As the action at training camp starts to heat up for the Dallas Cowboys, so will the pressure on many players and coaches inside that organization. All eyes are on the front office to figure out a way to get a deal done with CeeDee Lamb and maybe even Dak Prescott.
With the regular season just a little over a month away, football won’t stop from now until the end of the year. The three names below could really start to feel the heat intensify starting this week.
Is Mike McCarthy In The Hot Seat?
Let’s start with the head coach of this football team, Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy knows that this season is make-or-break for him. A coach that has seen the highest of highs is now staring at an unclear future. “This is a challenge,” McCarthy mentioned to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.
The Cowboys head coach went on to describe his situation even more.
“You pour energy into yourself and bet on yourself, the odds tilt in your favor.”
Big Mike enters this season without a contract extension. We have seen Jerry Jones do this once before. He let Jason Garrett coach for his job. The Cowboys went 13-3 under that circumstance but then, of course, they choked in the playoffs. Like they always did.
McCarthy took over the play calling duties last season, and it worked out well until they hosted the Packers in the first round of the playoffs.
They had the highest scoring offense during the regular season last year. Now they are without Tony Pollard and depending on younger guys on the offensive line.
Mike McCarthy should feel nothing but pressure from now until he knows if he will return or need to start looking for another job in 2025.
Mazi Smith Must Do Better In 2024
Let’s tell it like it is: Mazi Smith was horrible last season.
He was the Cowboys’ first-round pick in 2023 and when you put up the awful numbers that he did, pressure for the following season is sure to be felt in a big way.
Smith played 308 snaps last year, and registered a Pro Football Focus grade of 47.2, which was 113th out of 130 graded defensive linemen.
Mike Zimmer, now running the defense, should help. Dan Quinn was good at forcing turnovers and playing on that, but he made Smith do a lot of things that made us scratch our heads.
Mike Zimmer told reporters back in May that he had an idea in mind for Smith. Zimmer said he and Smith discussed what weight he wants Smith wants to play.
Zimmer did not give a number, but the last time anyone heard about it, he was at 305 lbs.
No doubt about it, Mazi Smith needs to be better to help this team stop the run this season. He should feel the pressure just as much as the next guy.
Dak Prescott — Is It Enough?
Dak Prescott should feel a lot of pressure with no deal yet done. The stress should be palpable as they head into training camp. He has no deal, and the pressure will only go up if no deal gets done by the time the season starts.
The Dallas Cowboys haven’t made it to an NFC Championship game, much less a Super Bowl since the 1995 season. We all know this.
The Cowboys have qualified as the top seed in the NFC playoffs only two times since the 90s. The first was in 2007. Tony Romo and the crew lost to the Giants. The second came in 2016, when Prescott was the rookie starter.
All eyes are on #4. Will he prove that he can win when it matters in the playoffs?
I am not one to think you can replace him with just anyone, though. Dak Prescott will win enough to get them to the playoffs, but that is when the winning actually starts to count.
I’m not turning this team over to Cooper Rush or Trey Lance until this season is over, but Dak MUST win this year. Love him or hate him, we can all agree that the need for Dak Prescott to win when it really matters this season is paramount.