Dallas ‘absolutely’ backs Mccarthy’s return
With the Dallas Cowboys a dismal 2-7 heading into their off week, team vice president Stephen Jones stated the obvious when he called the start of the Mike Mccarthy era a disappointment.
But there is no chance Mccarthy will be one and done in Dallas.
“Absolutely. Unequivocal,” said Jones when asked aboutmccarthy returning as coach of the Cowboys in 2021.
The Cowboys hired Mccarthy to replace Jason Garrett in the offseason because of his winning résumé, which includes a Super Bowl title. The Dallas executives believed Mccarthy could push the right buttons to get the talented team over the top.
Jones blamed the first-year struggles of Mccarthy on the absence of quarterback Dak Prescott, who is out for the remainder of the season with a fractured ankle, plus other injuries to key starters and the COVID-19 pandemic, which robbed the Cowboys of a chance to get acclimated with the new staff and its schemes.
“You’re changing a culture. You change when you change the leadership,” Jones said. “And certainly we like stability. That’s why we stayed with Jason for 10 years and we know these things don’t happen overnight in terms of when youturn things around. Youthrow on top of it that we had an unprecedented environment with the virus, and Mike and his staff weren’t able to have interactions with the team other than virtual. You throw that in there, then you throw the injuries that we’ve had to work with and certainly it’s been a big challenge.”
Mccarthy certainly appreciates the vote of confidence from the front office.
“Anytime you have confidence around you, it’s important to your programandwhat you’re trying to build,” Mccarthy said.
He agreed the challenges the Cowboys have faced this season are not only greater than anticipated but unfathomable when you include the injuries and the day-to-day changes and adjustments with COVID-19 protocols.
“We’re in unprecedented times,” Mccarthy said. “I mean, there’s just so many things that change constantly. It’s not an excuse. We still have to line up and play like everybody else, and we’re getting better as a football team. But it’s like anything in life — you don’t really appreciate it as much until you don’t have it. Not having the offseason program, and things like that, it’s been challenging.”
Jones said the Cowboys hired Mccarthy because of his experience and they are going to lean on that in getting through the challenges of 2021.
Mccarthy started slow in his first season with the Green Bay Packers in 2006 with four wins in their first 12 games. They won their final four to finish 8-8.
The following season Mccarthy led the Packers to a13-3mark and a birth in the NFC championship game.
The Packers won at least 10 games in eight of his first 11 seasons, but the teamwent 7-9 in 2017 and started 2018 at 4-7-1 before he was fired. He did not coach in 2019.
“You’ve got to take a deep breath on these things,” Jones said. “Certainly keep your confidence in the decisions that you’ve made. I think we’ll go to work each week. I knowmike started similarly in Green Bay, in terms of his first year there, (and) they finished strong and certainly that’s our goal here is to finish strong and compete in the (NFC) East and we’ll go from there.”
Mccarthy said the only comparisons to 2006 for him is the disappointment in the early start.
But 2020 takes the cake with him playing four quarterbacks in five weeks and three different QBS in three consecutive games to go along with having a different offensive line for nine consecutive weeks due to various injuries.
The Cowboys have lost five starters for the season in Prescott, offensive tackles La’el Collins and Tyron Smith, tight end Blake Jarwin and defensive tackle Trysten Hill. They lost defensive tackle Gerald Mccoy in training camp.
Several other starters have spent time on injured reserve, missing multiple games due to injuries, including linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, cornerback Chido Awuzie and center Joe Looney.
And that’s not even including guard Zack Martin missing a game with a concussion and backup quarterback Andy Dalton, who had replaced the injured Prescott, missing two games with a concussion and then COVID-19.
But Mccarthy does admit the Packers learned from their early struggles and improved because of them. And he hopes the same is the case for Cowboys over the remainder of the season.
Despite riding a four-game losing streak, the Cowboys have shown improvement in the last two games, especially on defense.
That they came within a lastsecond pass of upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday with a fourth different starting quarterback in Garrett Gilbert has given them some confidence.
And because they play they in NFC East, where the Philadelphia Eagles lead the division with a 3-4-1 mark, the 2-7 Cowboys believe they can get back in contention for a playoff spot if they continue to improve.
“The East is what it is,” Jones said. “We have to continue to get better each week. Go out there and go to work. Defensively, we are really starting to get a feel. The staff meshing with the players in terms of what the expectations are. The locker roomis coming together, holding each other accountable. If we can start to turn some of these performances into wins, we will get right back in it.”
It’s the main reason the Cowboys are going back to Dalton as the starting quarterback when they resume play against the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 22, if he is fully recovered from the COVID-19 virus. Mccarthy won’t know Dalton’s status until next week.
“I think our best days are ahead of us,” Mccarthy said. “That’s what I’m hopeful for. We’re up against it obviously with seven losses. The injury bug hasn’t left the building yet. Hopefully, we can get past some of these injuries and just build some continuity and consistency. I think it will definitely serve us well here down the stretch.”