Being the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys is no easy task.
It’s difficult enough to be a coach or coordinator of any of the other 31 NFL teams, but there is just something different about working for Jerry Jones.
Jerry is a shrewd businessman who values his brand over anything else.
Since 1989, that brand is the Dallas Cowboys, and the product on the field is a reflection of himself.
Those who believe he pushes the brand regardless of the product on the field are sorely mistaken.
The brand and winning go hand in hand.
Over the past couple of years, business has been good for Jerry and the Dallas Cowboys franchise.
The reason for that is Head Coach Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy has had a plan since before he was hired on January 8, 2020.
In his inaugural press conference, flanked by Jerry and Stephen Jones, McCarthy spoke about his year away from football in 2019.
He did not spend it on a beach somewhere. Instead he spent it diving into analytics to become a better coach.
That willingness to be better, even after a Super Bowl win and 10 other playoff appearances, is what convinced Jerry that McCarthy should be the next coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
In that press conference, McCarthy mentioned implementing his plan and “trusting the process”.
The wheels of that process are in full motion, and have led to good results over the past two years.
McCarthy trusts the process, and here’s why we should as well.
We Have Already Seen McCarthy Succeed
Mike McCarthy started his first head coaching gig in 2006 with the Green Bay Packers.
He coached the Packers for 13 years before being fired in Week 13 of the 2018 season after the team fell to 4-7-1 on the year.
McCarthy won’t be mentioned in the same breath as Vince Lombardi in Packers’ history, but maybe he should be.
He finished his Packers career with a 125-77 regular season record, going 10-8 in the playoffs.
There is a Super Bowl victory in there, along with several NFC Championship Game and Divisional Round appearances.
If the football took a different bounce in certain situations, we may be talking about more than one championship on his resume’.
Counting only the seasons where McCarthy’s starting quarterback was healthy, his teams posted winning records 13 out of a possible 15 times.
In those same 15 seasons, his teams have 11 playoff appearances.
One of those losing seasons was Aaron Rodgers’ first season as a starter, but Green Bay was in the playoffs by the following season, and in the Super Bowl the year after.
If there is one thing you can take away from McCarthy’s head coaching tenure, it’s that he will field a competitive team that will make the playoffs as long as his starting quarterback stays healthy.
His Plan Is Already Working
One thing the Cowboys’ fan base doesn’t have is patience.
After 27 years of mediocrity coupled with heartbreaking moments, our hearts are scarred, but still full of hope.
Prepare yourselves. The drought may soon be ending.
Just look at what McCarthy has already done for this franchise. In three short years, he has accomplished something no other Cowboys coach has since 1996.
Dallas is riding the wave of back to back 12-5 seasons, and back to back playoff appearances for the first time since Barry Switzer was coach.
Ask anybody inside the building and they will tell you that the culture has changed with McCarthy’s arrival.
That change has reached it’s highest level just this offseason with Dallas breaking the mold of how they usually do business.
There are so many examples over the past few months that have us all saying “this team is moving differently.”
From the release of fan favorite Ezekiel Elliott to the trade acquisitions of Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore, McCarthy’s plan has quickly taken shape.
All of the McCarthy-style moves have led to the best Cowboys team (on paper) in recent memory.
McCarthy’s Staff Is Complete
It took three years, but it seems McCarthy has finally weeded out the remnants of the Jason Garrett era from his coaching staff.
At the moment of his hire, McCarthy was voluntold to retain up and coming play caller Kellen Moore.
Like any good organization, the evidence of disdain between the coaching staff did not become apparent until after the fact.
During a 4th quarter meltdown at the hand of Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field, McCarthy slammed his headset to the ground in disgust after a failed 4th down attempt.
There were already cracks in the glass of his relationship with Kellen Moore, and his inability to run the football to bleed the clock shattered that glass to bits.
It’s reported that McCarthy decided at that point that Moore would not return as offensive coordinator of the Cowboys.
McCarthy will instead call plays himself in 2023, with Brian Schottenheimer carrying the title of offensive coordinator.
Schottenheimer is the final piece of the puzzle of “his guys” on the coaching staff.
That move is the reason the narrative this season is Super Bowl or bust, and that weight is solely on McCarthy’s shoulders.
He wouldn’t have it any other way.
What Is The Next Step?
After QB Dak Prescott’s return from a gruesome 2020 injury that cost him the entire season after Week 5, Dallas returned to the playoffs in 2021.
In the Wildcard Round, Dallas couldn’t overcome 14 penalties, and lost at home to the San Francisco 49ers.
Last season, Prescott led the Cowboys to their first road playoff win in 30 years by knocking off Tom Brady in the Wildcard Round.
Next up was a road Divisional Round matchup with those same pesky 49ers that resulted in another loss.
Logically, the next step is a Divisional Round win, and a berth in the NFC Championship Game.
Ask anyone in the locker room, however, and they will tell you the ultimate goal is not only an NFC Championship Game win, but a Super Bowl win as well.
There is a confidence and swagger throughout the Cowboys’ organization that hasn’t been there since the Super Bowl teams of the 90’s.
You can thank Mike McCarthy and the staff he has assembled for that swagger.
So save your criticisms of McCarthy. He’s done everything right since his arrival in Dallas, and any wrongs have been quickly fixed.
Mike McCarthy and everyone at The Star trusts the process.
You should, too.