Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy on upcoming bout against Rams: “We’re nobody’s underdog”

The Dallas Cowboys have been overcoming the odds since Week 2 of this season. After a poor showing in Week 1, even some of the most publicly supportive Cowboys supporters wrote off 2022 as an imminent failure of a season. The unforeseen success of winning every game since then naturally instilled confidence in the team and has even bolstered the conviction of Head Coach Mike McCarthy.

Imagine if in July someone had told Cowboys fans that by Week 4 we’d be supporting a team that was without its starting quarterback, without last season’s lead tackler, and playing rookie tight ends, inexperienced wide receivers, a rookie left tackle, three left guards, and a fifth-round pick at nickel cornerback. With such foresight, even the most optimistic fans would probably have trouble pushing the usual, “this is our year,” rhetoric.

Despite these circumstances being the current reality of the Dallas Cowboys, McCarthy has managed to guide this team to a 3-1 start. Perhaps that’s why we’ve seen him puff his chest out a bit more during his press conferences lately.

After the 19-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1, McCarthy said he had spent additional time with Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore, telling reporters that Moore needed to be “smarter” in his play calling. Then, last week, in response to reporters who credited Cooper Rush’s success to the backup quarterback’s ability to avoid turnovers and sacks, McCarthy jokingly responded, “Well, I know you’re struggling not to just say it was coaching. I don’t want any credit, God forbid. Let’s not change that now.”

Still, the improved play calling and relentless defense of the Dallas Cowboys have not been enough to convince many people that America’s Team is capable of continuing their win streak against the reigning World Champion Los Angeles Rams. Mike McCarthy didn’t waiver, however, when he learned of the betting odds against his team.

When told that the line was 5 1/2 favoring the Rams, he responded, “I’ll just say this: We’re nobody’s underdog. So, if you need a quote.”

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy was asked if he ever uses a betting line to motivate team. When told the line was 5 1/2, he asked if Cowboys were ones favored. (Rams are.) McCarthy: “I’ll just say this: We’re nobody’s underdog. So, if you need a quote.” Video via @dallascowboys. pic.twitter.com/Npd7cdSWRw
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) October 6, 2022

Even less common than this level of boldness from Coach McCarthy is the glowing praise McCarthy has received from Owner and General Manager Jerry Jones. The ways Jones spoke of McCarthy in the past led to months of speculation about when and how the head coach would be replaced, with many people predicting that it would happen before this season’s end. Jerry Jones was singing a much different song this week, however, when he made a point to publicly credit Mike McCarthy for the Cowboys’ successful start to this season.

“I don’t know how you could say enough about how he’s handled this team initially starting out,” Jones said. “It’s like [a] picture to me. A boxer, a fighter, walking out and just getting hit with the best shot you absolutely could right on the chin. First step out. How do you get that all back together? Give him his due. He has managed to right the ship, steady it, and then progressively get this team in shape to play without Dak. That’s a teamwide thing. I think it would be an injustice not to give him the kind of credit as head coach for getting this thing right and getting it to this point.”

The praise was appreciated by Mike McCarthy but didn’t seem to surprise him.

“It’s always nice when people say nice things about you, but I think this — particularly my relationship with Jerry, you know, I’ve always enjoyed our conversations privately, and I’ll always have walked away from those conversations with a lot of confidence,” he said. “And I think it’s good to have that type of relationship. So, my point is, he says nice things to me privately too.”

If the Cowboys prolong their win streak this Sunday, Jerry Jones certainly won’t be the only one saying nice things about Mike McCarthy.