Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy‘s first season has been a rocky one.
His team is 2-5.
Not only has the offense struggled somewhat due to injuries, but the defense has been uncharacteristically bad.
The Dallas defense ranks last in the league and has given up an average of 34 points per game.
When a team is down to its third string QB (who is a rookie) and a defense is giving up that many points, it is not a winning proposition.
So that begs the question.
Should Mike McCarthy be fired at the end of 2020?
Is he a one and done coach in Dallas?
The Answer Is No.
While the NFL is more about what has a player or coach done lately versus over an entire career, McCarthy deserves another chance in 2021.
And here’s why.
1. McCarthy Has Won A Super Bowl Title.
Quite honestly, no one else can say that in Dallas in the last quarter-century.
McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 45 in 2010.
He coached the Packers from 2006-2018; the team had other playoff appearances in addition to the Super Bowl victory.
2. He Has Coached Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers is a future Hall-of-Famer.
Everyone knows it.
Part of his success is attributed to McCarthy.
3. 2020 Has Been Challenging.
So McCarthy was out of the game for nearly 2 years.
He becomes the Cowboys head coach.
Then, there is a pandemic.
Plus Dak Prescott’s contract and his future in Dallas beyond 2020 loomed large in McCarthy’s early days with the organization.
McCarthy loses Dak and Andy Dalton and is trying to keep the team together in spite of it all.
"If people want to say Mike McCarthy was the wrong hire, fine. But even discussing firing him after less than 40% of his first season I think is insane. I do not think he should be on the hot seat already.' — @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/EbXruO05zf
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) October 21, 2020
4. The Cowboys Are Technically Still In The Playoff Hunt.
Yes, it is perfectly ridiculous and so 2020.
But at 2-5, the Cowboys could still win the NFC East.
So the season is still very much salvageable.
And for right now, the Cowboys organization appears to be behind McCarthy.
Cowboys VP Stephen Jones to the fans: “You’re gonna watch a team evolve over time. Mike McCarthy has proven he can do it year-in and year-out…I’m not sticking my head in the sand. I understand there’s gonna be frustration. We deserve criticism, but I do think this will evolve.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 26, 2020
Let’s say the Cowboys don’t make the playoffs which is also a good possibility.
The fact still remains that McCarthy should get a second season.
And hopefully a full training camp schedule and preseason games in 2021 to try to build this team into what many expect a Mike McCarthy team should be.
But if we are having this same conversation in 2021 and Mike McCarthy has the time and a normal schedule and the Cowboys are still underperforming, then he should be a two and done coach in Dallas.
As expected, members of the media disagree with this assessment.
Some believe McCarthy should be fired at the end of the season if things continue as they are with the Cowboys.
This includes ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith:
“Look, Jerry Jones’ reputation as an owner who fires coaches willy-nilly is outdated and, frankly, was never really deserved when you look at the history. And no one likes to admit a mistake. But if we get to the end of the season and the NFC East champ has only six or seven wins and the Cowboys aren’t it? They would have to be considered the biggest failure of any team in the league.”
For now, McCarthy and the Cowboys are focusing on a big NFC East matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend.
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