CFZ The 2024 Cowboys are walking into a psychological trap

[75boyz]

I understand. I actually think McCarthy is the best HC we’ve had since Jimmy. His problem is 1 playoff win in 3 years including that complete embarrassment vs GB, which I think was a fire-able offense.

Now Big Mac is twisting in the wind, so whatever we think of him he’s got to put up some playoff glory or else. I just think this is a bad set up.

Youre right but it's not too hard to improve on Garrett's performance as HC. But the bottom line is they have looked un prepared come playoff time in my eyes.
And not "just" the GB game.

He was hired because of his playoff resume and past SB victory.

That trophy win truly appears as a fluke in my eyes now where he was blessed with a first ballot HOF QB who did most of the heavy lifting.

All of his GB playoff defenses sucked *** as well besides the lone trophy winning one.

He under achieved with prime Rodgers if you ask me.

jmo

 

[Bobhaze]

Players still have a reason to fight, especially those on the final year of their contract, playing for the bag. I don't mind everyone being on the last year of their contracts. Next season looks to be an absolute fail / rebuilding year regardless of if Dak / MM is extended. I'm ready to blow it up and start over. Would be ecstatic if Lance is that guy to lead it.

But when has Jerry ever blown up a team and started over? The only “rebuilds” we ever see are accidental. Like after the 2015 4-12 debacle, we had great draft position which led to an ”accidental” rebuild in 2016.

My point is this GM and son do not know how to blow up and rebuild an entire roster. They literally have never done it without major help from a strong HC.

 

[Diehardblues]

I understand. I actually think McCarthy is the best HC we’ve had since Jimmy. His problem is 1 playoff win in 3 years including that complete embarrassment vs GB, which I think was a fire-able offense.

Now Big Mac is twisting in the wind, so whatever we think of him he’s got to put up some playoff glory or else. I just think this is a bad set up.

This is what’s conflicting to me. If we truly believe he’s the best HC we have had since Jimmy how do we abort if we continue making playoffs .

And who thinks we’ll attract something better. Once we except our dysfunctional situation with Jethro I’d lean to keep slugging away until collapses.

Maybe it will finally break thru. Starting over with most likely a lesser HC makes much less sense given the obvious in the room.

This ultimatum for playoff glory is becoming a problem . Especially with a FO which isn’t held accountable but yet our HC is held to a higher standing . Just saying..

My hunch is MM is a big part of Daks improvement this year and the teams consistent 12 win seasons. But that might not be enough to wave a magic wand in the playoffs.

 

[fivetwos]

But when has Jerry ever blown up a team and started over? The only “rebuilds” we ever see are accidental. Like after the 2015 4-12 debacle, we had great draft position which led to an ”accidental” rebuild in 2016.

My point is this GM and son do not know how to blow up and rebuild an entire roster. They literally have never done it without major help from a strong HC.

Exactly, which is why this needs to get much worse for a few years to have any chance to change. Even then maybe not.

Whether they know it or not, or don’t agree, the league is built for peaks and valleys and they don’t get that. These last few drafts were awful, two players, maybe another couple aside. Not enough to supplement what wasn’t good enough at that point.

Hint….they just went through the peak and decided to leave them short on the field, presumably to avoid cap problems that we somehow continue to have. Is every single player treated as if they are worth the cost or not, or is there some sort of overall plan?

If you’re not good enough and the cap restricts you from getting better you’re doing it wrong.

 

[805BoysInBlue]

When Jerry Jones decided in late January to bring Mike McCarthy back for the 2024 season, I immediately thought of the similar decision he made with Wade Phillips after the 2009 season, and all the ramifications that followed in the 2010 season.

In Jan, 2010 the Cowboys had been destroyed in the divisional round of the playoffs in embarrassing fashion by the Brett Favre led Vikings 34-3. Most believed Wade’s time in Big D as head coach was clearly at an end. It should have been. Jerry ran it back for the 2010 season. And that team went 1-5 to start the year, then they lost Romo for the season in mid-October and ended up 1-7 after that humiliating loss to GB on national TV where it was obvious the team had quit on Wade Phillips.

Jerry of course followed the bad decision to keep Wade on another year by hiring Jason Garrett for the next 9.5 seasons. But that’s a whole different story for another time.

What concerns me for the 2024 season is having Big Mac and his coaches all on essentially one year deals. Because it sets up a psychological trap for the players that inherently comes along with that:

• What if this team starts the season 3-5? Will the players begin to believe it’s all for nothing to keep fighting if they know Big Mac and staff are gone in 2025?
• This scenario puts more pressure on a team and its coaching staff to win early or the slide into a 2010 type scenario that could easily follow.
• If the front office extends Dak 2-3 more years, what happens to the future of this team if they fail early next year?

IMO, Mike McCarthy is a far better coach than Wade Phillips was and is more respected by the players. But how difficult will it be for the players to continue to fight for Mac if team gets off to a rough start knowing he has one leg out the door?

I respect Mike McCarthy and what he had done here. But this owner did him and the team no favors with this one year thing hanging over the season. Then follows that up with their usual standing pat routine while the rest of the league is reloading.

The one thing McCarthy has going for him is that there's 3 super stars who have yet to receive a contract as well. So there's incentives there for the players, but that's a double edge sword. If the players feel under utilized during a contract year they're gonna flip. It's an interesting dynamic.

 

[Bobhaze]

This is what’s conflicting to me. If we truly believe he’s the best HC we have had since Jimmy how do we abort if we continue making playoffs .

And who thinks we’ll attract something better. Once we except our dysfunctional situation with Jethro I’d lean to keep slugging away until collapses.

Maybe it will finally break thru. Starting over with most likely a lesser HC makes much less sense given the obvious in the room.

This ultimatum for playoff glory is becoming a problem . Especially with a FO which isn’t held accountable but yet our HC is held to a higher standing . Just saying..

My hunch is MM is a big part of Daks improvement this year and the teams consistent 12 win seasons. But that might not be enough to wave a magic wand in the playoffs.

Greggo IMO, the problem with keeping McCarthy has nothing to do with his ability to coach or who we could get that’s better. (We all know Jerry picks coaches based on who makes him feel the most comfortable not who’s the best HC) The problem with keeping Mac is that one year deal hanging over him sets up an early collapse if this team starts slow.

Sometimes when your team lays an embarrassing egg in the HC’s 4th season and he has only won 1 playoff game, you have to cut your losses and move on. It just didn’t work. Embarrassing play-off collapses often have lingering effects.

I would have let McCarthy go and pushed the reset button. But we all know JJ and SJ don’t think that way because they are neither accountable nor in a hurry to change what they enjoy most - playing with their toy. Besides, they literally don’t know how to construct a championship roster in the modern cap era. They’ve literally never done it.

 

[Diehardblues]

Exactly, which is why this needs to get much worse for a few years to have any chance to change. Even then maybe not.

Whether they know it or not, or don’t agree, the league is built for peaks and valleys and they don’t get that. These last few drafts were awful, two players, maybe another couple aside. Not enough to supplement what wasn’t good enough at that point.

Hint….they just went through the peak and decided to leave them short on the field, presumably to avoid cap problems that we somehow continue to have. Is every single player treated as if they are worth the cost or not, or is there some sort of overall plan?

If you’re not good enough and the cap restricts you from getting better you’re doing it wrong.

I’m not sure how committed they are in getting better. I think they’re more concerned about getting worse.

 

[fivetwos]

But when has Jerry ever blown up a team and started over? The only “rebuilds” we ever see are accidental. Like after the 2015 4-12 debacle, we had great draft position which led to an ”accidental” rebuild in 2016.

My point is this GM and son do not know how to blow up and rebuild an entire roster. They literally have never done it without major help from a strong HC.

The only hope is to end up in Parcells mode out of desperation, which isn’t happening as long as Jerry insists on heading to the office every day and being a celebrity.

Honestly, is an 80 something year old man going to insist on trying to rebuild an NFL team so he can get the “credit?” I mean enough already.

My hope is maybe in about 4-6 years things will get desperate enough to where the kid is tired of the media pressure that everyone was afraid to put on Jerry for fear of being banned and hires someone to run the whole show. Even then, good luck getting major FA approved, but at least maybe we have a chance at good coaching, not some puppet.

There’s an ok shot it’s headed that way, but there’s no telling how long Jerry is going to insist on stepping in front of a mic.

For now I feel like I’m better off rooting against them, which is absolutely what I will do before finding “another team.”

Maybe they own the team, but I was here first.

 

[GMO415]

Bullet, lame duck leadership is almost always ineffective. They players think "I'm here for the next two-three years, but these coaches ain't, why should i bust my butt for them?"

 

[Diehardblues]

Greggo IMO, the problem with keeping McCarthy has nothing to do with his ability to coach or who we could get that’s better. (We all know Jerry picks coaches based on who makes him feel the most comfortable not who’s the best HC) The problem with keeping Mac is that one year deal hanging over him sets up an early collapse if this team starts slow.

Sometimes when your team lays an embarrassing egg in the HC’s 4th season and he has only won 1 playoff game, you have to cut your losses and move on. It just didn’t work. Embarrassing play-off collapses often have lingering effects.

I would have let McCarthy go and pushed the reset button. But we all know JJ and SJ don’t think that way because they are neither accountable nor in a hurry to change what they enjoy most - playing with their toy. Besides, they literally don’t know how to construct a championship roster in the modern cap era. They’ve literally never done it.

Exactly and why I think we have to take a step back and look at our situation differently. It’s how we ended up with Garrett for 10 years.

This is pretty much normal procedure for Jethro letting HC this era go into final season contract.

I’m not sure it indicates MM must find glory in playoffs.

 

[SpaceCowboy99]

I understand. I actually think McCarthy is the best HC we’ve had since Jimmy. His problem is 1 playoff win in 3 years including that complete embarrassment vs GB, which I think was a fire-able offense.

Now Big Mac is twisting in the wind, so whatever we think of him he’s got to put up some playoff glory or else. I just think this is a bad set up.

I disagree. I think he's good but he is missing something. Detail, discipline, something. He's good enough to get teams to win with the right QB but he has issues in the playoffs. Minus the 1 SB. 6 of his Green Bay seasons he had 10 or more wins in the regular season and lost in the playoffs. Now he has 3 more to that with the cowboys.

Jimmy > Big Tuna > MM

 

[Diehardblues]

Bullet, lame duck leadership is almost always ineffective. They players think "I'm here for the next two-three years, but these coaches ain't, why should i bust my butt for them?"

I think Jethro wants to see if the players will rise up for McCarthy to get him an extension.

 

[Bobhaze]

Bullet, lame duck leadership is almost always ineffective. They players think "I'm here for the next two-three years, but these coaches ain't, why should i bust my butt for them?"

Yep, that’s it in a nutshell. Which basically means if the Cowboys have a rough start in 2024 the chances of an early collapse are high.

I think Jethro wants to see if the players will rise up for McCarthy to get him an extension.

They won’t if the team starts 3-5. It’s like having your head in a guillotine. I can’t think of a team where this worked out real well in the past.

 

[GMO415]

I think Jethro wants to see if the players will rise up for McCarthy to get him an extension.

The same players who replied "We were tired" after asked why did they lose to the inexperienced Packers?

 

[Diehardblues]

Bullet, lame duck leadership is almost always ineffective. They players think "I'm here for the next two-three years, but these coaches ain't, why should i bust my butt for them?"

I think Jethro wants to see if the players will rise up for McCarthy to get him an extension.

 

[Diehardblues]

Yep, that’s it in a nutshell. Which basically means if the Cowboys have a rough start in 2024 the chances of an early collapse are high.

They won’t if the team starts 3-5. It’s like having your head in a guillotine. I can’t think of a team where this worked out real well in the past.

Maybe not but then the real world doesn’t necessarily apply here.

If McCarthy was smart he’d take any offer from another franchise that comes after next season. Assuming one would.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we get off to a good start Jethro could resign before another early exit in playoffs.

If we’re willing to resign Dak before the playoff results why not MM.

As always I try to think outside the box here . Lol

 

[Diehardblues]

The same players who replied "We were tired" after asked why did they lose to the inexperienced Packers?

I think we’ll see how much Packers are improved next year. They took SF to the brink.

The NFC North could be most improved in 2024. Especially if Cousin resigns with Vikings and Bears have stellar draft.

 

[Kwyn]

But when has Jerry ever blown up a team and started over? The only “rebuilds” we ever see are accidental. Like after the 2015 4-12 debacle, we had great draft position which led to an ”accidental” rebuild in 2016.

My point is this GM and son do not know how to blow up and rebuild an entire roster. They literally have never done it without major help from a strong HC.

That’s kinda what we need to hope for now.

No big fat free agent deals, Jerry let’s Dak play it out, thinking it’s a smart play to give him leverage, but then Dak goes elsewhere as a free agent to sign the biggest QB contract in history for the Raiders or something, and then the Cowboys have an accidental rebuild.

 

[75boyz]

I don't know Bob - he had a good "set-up" this year -he got home field advantage till the Championship game and a QB that had a close to MVP season.

This was it...all they had to do is win 2 home games and at least get to the SF game and they both failed miserably.

The whole team failed and thats directly on MM, they weren't close to being ready or competitive.

Whatever they have to deal with this year, they will get no quarter from me.

Exactly.
Totally agree.

 

[Bobhaze]

I think we’ll see how much Packers are improved next year. They took SF to the brink.

The NFC North could be most improved in 2024. Especially if Cousin resigns with Vikings and Bears have stellar draft.

As of this afternoon, Cousins will sign with the Falcons in 2024.