INSIDE: COWBOYS CHOOSE FORMER PACKERS COACH MIKE MCCARTHY TO REPLACE JASON GARRETT.
Former Packers coach already is making staff changes as he hopes to rebuild image
FRISCO — For all the melodrama of last week in letting Jason Garrett go, the Dallas Cowboys worked fast and efficiently in finding his replacement.
Sources confirmed Monday morning that Mike McCarthy has been offered the job and accepted it, becoming the ninth coach in team history, the eighth since owner Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989.
Per sources, McCarthy agreed to a five-year deal with the Cowboys.
Jones wanted a proven winner and experienced NFL coach, and he got exactly that in McCarthy, who had a 125-77-2 record with six division titles, four trips to the NFC title game and one Super Bowl title during his career with the Green Bay Packers from 2006-18.
The Cowboys were quickly smitten as McCarthy flew in Saturday for the interview. Things went so well that he reportedly spent the night Jones’ house in Highland Park before leaving on Sunday.
The Cowboys officially said goodbye to Garrett on Sunday, seven days after the 2019 season finale against Washington in a decision that was a foregone conclusion after the fourth 8-8 season in his 9½ years as head coach.
The Cowboys actually interviewed Marvin Lewis, the former Cincinnati Bengals coach first. He came in Friday and left on Saturday.
McCarthy comes to Dallas not only looking to make the Cowboys big winner again but also hoping to rebuild his image.
McCarthy led Green Bay to eight consecutive playoff appearances from 2009-16, the third longest streak in NFL history.
Only three other coaches in NFL history have a streak that long, and they are legends of the game: former Cowboys coach Tom Landry, former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll and New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Landry won two Super Bowl titles. Noll won four. And Belichick has eight.
McCarthy’s success in Green Bay was derailed because of a rift with star quarterback Aaron Rodgers over play calling, and the organization decided to part ways with him after a 4-7-1 start in 2018.
That the Packers only won one Super Bowl with Rodgers, a future Hall of Fame quarterback, was largely blamed on McCarthy.
Now he is in charge of trying to get quarterback Dak Prescott to the next level and hopefully lead the Cowboys to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1995 season.
Ironically, McCarthy’s lone title came following the 2010 season in Super Bowl XLV at AT&T Stadium.
McCarthy didn’t take long to make staff decisions. He plans to bring in New Orleans Saints linebacker coach Mike Nolan as his defensive coordinator, effectively ending Rod Marinelli’s career in Dallas.
Nolan and McCarthy have a long relationship, with Nolan having hired McCarthy as the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator in 2005 when he was named head coach. McCarthy became the Packers’ coach in 2006.
Nolan is a longtime NFL defensive coordinator, most recently with the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons after being fired as the 49ers coach in 2008.
Nolan plans to continue to run the 4-3 defense in Dallas.