The Dallas Cowboys will begin a new era in 2020 under Head Coach Mike McCarthy. There are many reasons to be excited as the team is undergoing a coaching change for the first time since 2010. Fans have hope that McCarthy is the coach to bring the Cowboys a Super Bowl ring after so many years of waiting.
Here are a handful of stats to get your hopes up before next season.
All stats from Pro-football-reference.com
Takeaways Season in Dallas?
The Cowboys might not be known for giving the ball away too much, but they have been known for not taking the ball away. Even in good years, defenses in Dallas haven’t been able to get the ball back for their offense.
Jason Garrett led the Cowboys to a second place in the league in takeaways in 2014. However, in nine seasons as the team’s head coach, that was the one time the team ranked in the top 10 in this category. In seven of those nine years, the Cowboys defense ranked 16th or lower, including a 32nd finish in 2015.
Mike McCarthy’s Packers ranked first in this category twice and five times in the Top 10. In Takeaway/Giveaway ratio, the Green Bay had a solid record, ranking in the top 10 nine seasons during McCarthy’s tenure. Only once were his Packers part of the league’s bottom twelve, as they ranked 20th in 2017.
Average Finish in Division
Since 2004, the NFC East hasn’t seen a division champion repeat. What’s worse, Jason Garrett failed to take the Cowboys to consecutive playoff seasons during his stay in Dallas.
That could change pretty soon if McCarthy continues his old ways. His team’s average rank in the division is 1.8, which ranks him in the Top 15 in NFL history. He got six division titles while coaching for the Packers including a four-year streak from 2011 to 2014.
December Football
In order to succeed in the NFL, you have to win football games in the last month of the year. Fates are decided in December, playoff berths are secured or lost. Lucky for the Cowboys, Mike McCarthy has been great in this department.
Between 2006 and 2018, McCarthy’s winning percentage in December was .661, fourth-best in the NFL.
Adjusting the search to get an idea of how Garrett compared to McCarthy in this department during his time in Dallas (2011-2018), we can see the Packers still ranked fourth in the NFL with a .686 mark while the Cowboys were 10th with a winning percentage of .576.
One Super Bowl Win
Duh.
Cheesy, I know. But although no NFL head coach has won the Super Bowl with two different franchises, you have to like McCarthy’s chances. He’s coming to a team with a franchise quarterback on the roster and a premier offense to run.
With Cowboys’ fans suffering from a Super Bowl drought (heck, and NFC Championship Game drought), McCarthy should provide legit hope to see the glory days once again. An ever-elusive sixth Lombardi Trophy coming home?
