Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
There is only one way to determine an answer: Football Court
On Wednesday evening the Dallas Cowboys announced that Mike McCarthy, fresh off a stunning loss to the Green Bay Packers, would be back as the head coach for the 2024 season.
The move came as a surprise. After all, this was the third-straight season for Dallas that ended with a shocking loss in the playoffs. The 2021-2022 season ended with a loss at home to the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card round, and last year ended with another loss to San Francisco in the Divisional Round.
Since the announcement, many commentators have pointed to the idea that the “definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” So, to try and decipher whether this decision is wise, or insane, we have taken the matter to Football Court. Mark Schofield will argue that this was the right move, James Dator will make the case that the Cowboys should have moved on, and the Honorable J.P. Acosta will render a decision.
Bringing Mike McCarthy back was the right move — Mark Schofield
Ladies and gentlemen, there was truly only one option available to Jerry Jones, and it was the right option.
And it was the one he picked.
Before diving into the why, I must offer a bit of background. I make that statement as one of many who, perhaps as early as October, had an eye on a potential “Bill Belichick to Dallas scenario.” You can check the receipts on that one, as the kids like to say.
But the pathway was clear, right? The New England Patriots were en route to their worst finish in recent memory, and it looked as if the window was closing on the Belichick Era in Foxborough. While the Cowboys were playing well, the thoughts of another embarrassing playoff loss certainly loomed, and if that happened — and Belichick was indeed available — it seemed like the kind of knee-jerk move that Jones would make in a bit of frustration.
He would argue the team had plateaued under McCarthy and that with the arguably greatest head coach of all time available, the time was right to make a move.
And as luck would have it … that pathway was indeed set up for Jones to do just that. The Patriots and Belichick parted ways, and Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers was as embarrassing as it gets.
Only … Jones did not do it.
He did not do it.
He did not do it because he realizes that under McCarthy the pieces are in place for a deep playoff run, even if that has yet to truly materialize. Under his leadership the team has won 12 games in three-straight seasons, something that has only happened once before in the team’s history, during the Jimmy Johnson/Barry Switzer run. Sure, that stretch produced a Super Bowl title in two of those three seasons, something that has certainly not happened under McCarthy, but Jones went against form, and practiced patience here.
Consider just a portion of what Jones had to say when announcing the decision to stick with McCarthy:
“There is great benefit to continuing the team’s progress under Mike’s leadership as our head coach. Specifically, there are many layers of success that have occurred this season as a result of Mike’s approach to leading the team, both with individual players and with our team collectively. Mike has the highest regular season winning percentage of any head coach in Cowboys history and we will dedicate ourselves, in partnership with him, to translating that into reaching our post season goals. Certainly, Mike’s career has demonstrated post season success at a high level, and we have great confidence that can continue.”
A few things jump out, but not only does Jones reference the “progress” made under McCarthy, but the success of individual players. Perhaps that portion of the statement shines a light on what we saw from Dak Prescott this season.
This is, dare we say, a mature approach from Jones. Which feels odd to say about an 81-year-old man, but consider the bigger picture. This move also comes during a year which saw Jones and Johnson mend their fractured relationship as the head coach — and friend of Jones — was installed in the team’s Ring of Honor. Jones is going against form, against expectations, and instead of a wild overreaction, he is practicing patience.
A practice that might just pay off for him in the end.
The Cowboys should have moved on — James Dator
The Dallas Cowboys. Proud. Historic. Underachieving. When a team isn’t reaching its goals you need to examine the variables. Head coach is the remaining variable that needs to be tweaked.
Mike McCarthy is a good coach. He’s a damn good coach. Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t understand ball. That said, McCarthy has a very specific achilles heel and it just so happens to align with what the Cowboys are trying to achieve: He struggles in the playoffs.
This has been an issue for the majority of his career. In the regular season you’d be hard pressed to find many coaches who are better. He’s masterful at adapting to injuries, changing his approach from week-to-week to win games, and the macro-management required to get through the season and into the playoffs.
However, when you actually hit the playoffs it’s about micromanagement, and it’s here where McCarthy struggles. He’s a career 11-11 in the postseason. In the 12 times he’s taken a team to the playoffs they’ve only won more than one game twice, in 2010 when the Packers won the Super Bowl, and in 2016 when they were stunned by the Falcons in the NFC Championship game.
McCarthy teams routinely get out-coached in games where he spends time planning for a known opponent, and when they have time to do the same. It’s for this reason it’s always perceived as disappointment, because McCarthy teams look so good in the regular season, and so bad in the playoffs it’s like they’re two separate entities.
It’s for this reason that I don’t think it would have been an overreaction to fire McCarthy. To me, that would apply there’s an emotional element to this. The reality is that Dallas is a team that wants to be in the Super Bowl mix, not just the playoff picture — and as it stands McCarthy has proven for almost two decades that he’s simply not a coach who can dominate in the postseason.
This is a team that’s gone as far as it can with Mike McCarthy. While it’s fair to say he’s the best coach the organization has had since the likes of Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer, he also now owns a worse playoff record than Jason Garrett.
The Cowboys needed a fresh approach. Instead I fear they’ll settle for more of the same.
Verdict by Judge JP Acosta
Ladies and gentlemen, counsels and jury, would anyone like to tell me the definition of insanity?
As defined by great scientist Albert Einstein, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. While both Counsel Schofield and Counsel Dator make very strong arguments, I cannot help but be moved by the evidence of McCarthy’s tenure on display Sunday afternoon. Simply put, the Dallas Cowboys did not want to be there.
For a home playoff game.
Against the seven seed.
WR CeeDee Lamb was visibly frustrated and moping around…after the first drive of the game. The vaunted Cowboys defense looked like they’ve never seen play-action before. Above everything else, the Cowboys looked unprepared to play football. That falls on the coaching. I’m ruling in favor of Counsel Dator here, and it might just be for the simple fact that for the Cowboys to do everything they said they want to, someone has to get them over the McCarthy hump. As Counsel Schofield said, it’s true that the Dallas Cowboys have won 12 or more games in three straight seasons. While that is true, per ESPN’s Ed Werder, the Cowboys are the only team to achieve that and not have a season finish in the conference championship.
Forget about Super Bowl, the Cowboys can’t even get past the Divisional Round.
At some point, changes are going to have to be made. You can’t keep running it back and expecting different results, otherwise you end up stuck under the glass ceiling, which is where Dallas has been since before I was born. By committing to McCarthy, the Cowboys are committing to sticking themselves below the glass ceiling, staring at disappointing divisional round exits for years to come.
