The McCarthy Chronicles: Head coach of the Cowboys begins his most significant campaign to date
Mike McCarthy is about to embark on an eventful year.
“I think at the end of this year, we’ll be all in.”
When Jerry Jones said the comment above a little more than seven months ago, Cowboys supporters went into a frenzy. This fever has persisted for the most part of the offseason, with the Cowboys scarcely making any decisions that would be seen as “going all in.”
The Cowboys’ offseason has actually been characterized by their lack of action after a heartbreaking and humiliating playoff loss to the Packers. Beyond this season, Dak Prescott is still unsigned, and Mike McCarthy will coach in the last year of his deal. Mike Zimmer, the recently appointed defensive coordinator, will also do so. Everything about it shouts dysfunction when viewed from the outside.
The other remarks Jones made that day in late January—specifically, about his head coach—were overshadowed by the headline “all in.”My point is that, after considering that, I believe that, when we recruited Mike McCarthy four years ago, we made a wise decision. Since then, he has had some outstanding in-season success. He has now failed three times and helped us advance in the playoffs. However, I appreciate that he is hanging around near the rim and the work the club has put into doing so.
Thus, I believe my response would be that I am aware that we are hanging out near the edge. We’re not making baskets, but when you hang around the rim—which we shouldn’t undervalue—where we are with the players we have at the moment, I’m considering it holistically.
Now that the Cowboys have less than a week until the team’s actual season begins, the strategy is to keep circling the rim and eventually put the ball in the basket. Jones is hoping for that, and McCarthy—who has already accomplished this in Green Bay—plans to carry it out.
Naturally, the external commotion that precedes this season cannot be ignored. McCarthy should know by now that Dallas always has the brighter limelight. However, things are very different this year. If McCarthy can’t put the ball in the hoop, he may lose his job in five months. McCarthy signed a new agent this offseason. And after this season, the team he presently leads may decide to start over at quarterback, McCarthy or not.
At least in terms of the unknown futures of numerous important players involved, this circumstance may be compared to the fabled Last Dance of the Chicago Bulls during the Michael Jordan era. However, with that bunch, the Bulls had already made it to the top several times, while the Cowboys are still figuring out how to get there when the playoffs roll around.
McCarthy is, of course, an expert at it. As the head coach of the Packers, he was the winner of a Super Bowl in Jerry World and now has a street named after him just outside Lambeau Field. And getting a coach who had been there and done that was a major factor in the decision to fire Jason Garrett, who had just finished his last year as coach, and bring in McCarthy.
The outcome hasn’t been the breakthrough Jones was looking for from the encounter. Not quite yet, anyhow. However, under McCarthy, the Cowboys have seen a level of consistency not seen since the heyday of the 1990s. That’s three consecutive 12-win seasons, which is no small feat. If nothing else, McCarthy’s Cowboys are excellent at making it to the postseason. Of course, qualifying for the playoffs is a prerequisite for a shot at the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys aren’t a clear favorite to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, though, since the team is just days away from opening the season on the road at Cleveland. While some sportsbooks are a touch more bullish at 10.5 wins, the majority of sportsbooks, including FanDuel, have their win total line at 9.5 wins. Nevertheless, Vegas believes the Cowboys will regress this season, despite all indications that they require a significant uptick in performance. As he approaches the last year of his contract, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said of his situation: “I really don’t want to speak on it.” I haven’t said anything about it because there isn’t really much to say and it is irrelevant. Today is the only day that matters. And in reality, that’s— September 2, 2024 — Jon Machota (@jonmachota)
However, McCarthy is unconcerned with any of that. Alternatively, he refuses to acknowledge his concern. He demands a laser-like focus on winning the next game, which is a very difficult road matchup against the Cleveland Browns, who have the best defense in the league last year. The Browns, who have one of the best rushing offenses in recent memory, present a formidable first test for Zimmer’s revamped run defense.
McCarthy wants to emphasize such specifics. Simply triumph, and everything else will work itself out. McCarthy is aware that Super Bowls aren’t won in September, but he still believes he has what it takes to win the big one and the talent to do so, especially heading into his second season of calling plays for Prescott, the MVP runner-up from the previous season.
Even though the pressure is getting too much for him to handle, all he can do on Sunday in Cleveland is give it his all. Everything else is merely a diversion.
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