Big Mac now has some leverage. Can he use it?

[Bobhaze]

This season has sucked in so many ways. Lame-ducking MM was a fail by JJ, along with many other blunders.

IMO— MM does deserve to get an extension and a raise based on his performance this year.

BUT

That has no bearing on one simple fact: Mike has NOT succeeded with the primary reason he was hired. To win in the playoffs.

JJ has put himself in an absurd situation: fire a guy the players love and respect after he has made lemonade from lemons? Or extend a guy you know can’t help this team beat the best teams in the league? Purgatory seems inevitable.

The only viable direction he can take now that JJ has (mis)played his hand is actually quite simple:

Extend Mike. Marry his contract length to mirror Dak’s contract. Give them a chance to “get it done” (which looks like a fools errand at this point)— and then start the full rebuild once their contracts expire.

Add quality pieces to the offense to maximize Dak’s opportunity to succeed, and hope for the best, and plan and prepare for life after Dak and Mike.

Firing Mike now, especially if this team competes against Philly and Washington would absolutely send the wrong message and would be a downer now— whereas firing him like he should have after the beatdown in Jan would have provided accountability and a fresh start.

We have the worst GM in the league. It is beyond maddening to watch him drive this franchise into the ground. Rant over lol.

Great post.

 

[Cowfan75Lives]

Not even offseason and everyone thinks we should run it all back. Guess that playoff elimination did wonders. Well, good, because we are. Jerry only needs to see a team "compete", so he's been convinced 100X over by now.

 

[ShiningStar]

JJ: since ive owned this franchise i make all the decisions

Cowboy media and fans: I wonder if we can extend a coach who doesnt win the big games, that would be so cool.

JJ: what more do i have to prove to you, i make all the decisions.

Cowboys media and fans: Nope, we still dont get it.

 

[Risen Star]

The bottom line, Landry loses that game and we all know it.

 

[Shannon1]

Does he really have any leverage? What team will hire McCarthy besides the Cowboys?

Saints Bears New York G

 

[Chocolate Lab]

What leverage does McCarthy have? Did these problems suddenly get fixed?

Clock management
Play calling
Player management
Penalties (undisciplined)
Bad tackling
General unpreparedness for games

NO. Should he have been fired after GB? YES!

Who do you have in mind who would be a clear upgrade and who Jerry would actually hire?

 

[Praxit]

My personal feelings aside, my guess is McCarthy will leverage it to try to get (or change) one or two big things he wants.

Jerry will realize he is stuck with Dak's contract for at least 1 to 2 years and Dak and McCarthy like each other, so Jerry will likely give in.

That said, I think Jerry will trade giving in to McCarthy's demands for a shorter prove-it contract (ex: 2 years instead of 3-4), and I think that will be the sticking point for McCarthy who is likely to get offers from at least one or two other teams in the off-season.

If I were McCarthy and I still wanted to coach here (which we honestly do not know is true at this time), I would tell Jerry you made me coach the last year of my current contract so if you want me back it will cost you 4-5 years and then they will settle on 3, assuming Jerry gives in to his demands on changes.

...the idea that MM might want some things changed, IF he decides to stay on. . Could benefit cowboys for 25'. Hopefully.

 

[blueblood70]

...the idea that MM might want some things changed, IF he decides to stay on. . Could benefit cowboys for 25'. Hopefully.

Yeah but the idea to act like this guy all of a sudden has more leverage than he did from his three and seven start and the fact that he got blown out by Green Bay I'm with that group nothing has changed he has no more leverage than he had after that Green Bay loss because he started the season out with the healthy group of players for the most part and look like garbage at 3:00 and 7:00 Jerry's not gonna forget that because he took a bunch of backups into battle with nothing to lose and actually played like it would have been more impressive is if he had done this same type of aggressive play calling like he had nothing to lose from game one and utilize our talent from day one to save his job I've been very impressed but playing like this down the stretch he did this in 2020 if he had leverage it was after three straight twelve wins seasons going to the playoffs three straight times and beating the eagles twice in that same three-year. For the division and he didn't get a new contract he had leverage at that moment and didn't get anything from it you all underestimate Jerry he may be happy that games are being won down the stretch so fans are somehow being content instead of hateful around the holidays have something to cheer for you know for next year but he's not gonna forget the Green Bay lofts and the three and seven start before a lot of big name players went down and then he decides to play aggressive he has no leverage as far as anything more than he would have had before game one nothing's changed...

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Firing Mike now, especially if this team competes against Philly and Washington would absolutely send the wrong message and would be a downer now— whereas firing him like he should have after the beatdown in Jan would have provided accountability and a fresh start.

If Jerry had fired Mike last year, would you hold this year against the new coach?

Or is it just Mike who gets demerits for not winning in the playoffs playing over half the season with a backup QB and numerous other injuries to some of our best players?

 

[Praxit]

Yeah but the idea to act like this guy all of a sudden has more leverage than he did from his three and seven start and the fact that he got blown out by Green Bay I'm with that group nothing has changed he has no more leverage than he had after that Green Bay loss because he started the season out with the healthy group of players for the most part and look like garbage at 3:00 and 7:00 Jerry's not gonna forget that because he took a bunch of backups into battle with nothing to lose and actually played like it would have been more impressive is if he had done this same type of aggressive play calling like he had nothing to lose from game one and utilize our talent from day one to save his job I've been very impressed but playing like this down the stretch he did this in 2020 if he had leverage it was after three straight twelve wins seasons going to the playoffs three straight times and beating the eagles twice in that same three-year. For the division and he didn't get a new contract he had leverage at that moment and didn't get anything from it you all underestimate Jerry he may be happy that games are being won down the stretch so fans are somehow being content instead of hateful around the holidays have something to cheer for you know for next year but he's not gonna forget the Green Bay lofts and the three and seven start before a lot of big name players went down and then he decides to play aggressive he has no leverage as far as anything more than he would have had before game one nothing's changed...

...ya, good points. I've seen the difference from Zimmer, being more aggresive. Had he done that 5-6 wks ago, we probably win some of those games.

Back to MM and the loss to GB. ITs still disheartening, and still a HUGE flag in McCarthys book. Then the fallout this year.

I can go either way. Ok, if he's gone or ok if he stays. Remember those JG yrs? How 8-8 was basically written in stone for team. Nice to not feel that anymore. ..

 

[WoodysGirl]

 

[baltcowboy]

Saints Bears New York G

Bye bye……

 

[MoistMayonnaise]

Does he really have any leverage? What team will hire McCarthy besides the Cowboys?

I don't think that interest in McCarthy is the leverage. I think, as stated earlier in this thread, that Jerry is comfortable, and lazy, which is where the leverage comes from. We have no idea if MM is even willing to come back.

 

[ShiningStar]

If Jerry had fired Mike last year, would you hold this year against the new coach?

Or is it just Mike who gets demerits for not winning in the playoffs playing over half the season with a backup QB and numerous other injuries to some of our best players?

even with a full team and stacked, MM lost an easy playoff win game, or did that magically go away?

No, we would not hold the new coach to the same results because MM made the decision to run the offense, use Zeke in a horrible way, watch his defense tire out, watch his ST coach botch a few plays and countless other mistakes that MM should be past by this point in his career.


REally want to use that as a defense? Hint, not a great defense.

 

[Jipper]

He has 1 playoff win since 2016. This little surge has been fun with Cooper Rush, but the game has passed him by. He's the third oldest HC in the leauge. The time of old re-treads is over. The team is constantly unprepared and undisciplined.

Nothing to disagree with but he still has the resume to get another HC gig in the NFL if not in Dallas...and i totally agree on this team and would rather have a young edgy coach

 

[ShiningStar]

Nothing to disagree with but he still has the resume to get another HC gig in the NFL if not in Dallas...and i totally agree on this team and would rather have a young edgy coach

After being a disaster in Dallas, still making bad decisions, still playing some players out of position

what team that is legitally looking to win, would consider this mess? Be brutally honest. Keep in mind, like Dallas some teams are not looking to win. We re only dealing with serious teams.

Who would look at McCarthy and be say to themselves, with all the mistakes, no accountability, having JJ make all his decisions and a pretty stacked team and still isnt relevant, we really need this guy for our team"

 

[tomsanders921]

Whatever anyone here thinks about Mike McCarthy as a HC, this guy has done a good job keeping his players focused and motivated despite a rash of injuries, a roster that was way less talented than last year, and an owner who hung him out over a cliff without a future.

Despite all that, this team played like last night was a playoff game. The undermanned defense (missing 4 starters) was hitting the bucs like freight trains and swarming to the ball like their hair was in fire. The offense (with 2 starters out and a star WR with an A/C joint needing surgery) made big plays when it had to.

Bottom line: This team looked motivated. Four hours after learning they are eliminated from the playoffs.

So….it appears to me that suddenly Mike McCarthy, who looked like a dead man walking when we were 3-7, now has the inside track to be extended. With Bill Belechick now recruiting teenagers to play at North Carolina, the scenario of a Belechick run as HC in Big D is dead. (I never for one second thought Bill B would ever agree to come here to the Jerry circus anyway)

Now the question becomes, will Jerry now once again see Big Mac as the future? If so, McCarthy needs to use his sudden surge of leverage wisely. If I were in his shoes, I would be negotiating for these changes:

• FIRST: Currently, McCarthy is the 16th highest paid NFL HC. He should seek to get paid in at least the top 10. He’s only making $4 million which is third in the NFC East. He makes less than Dan Quinn in Washington. Jerry is notoriously cheap with coaches. Make him pay you at least $10 mil a season.
• SECOND: He should have it in his contract that he hires his own assistants. Parcells and Jimmy both had that in their contracts. McCarthy has earned the right to have that as well. It’s what normal HCs in this league have - the right to decide who to go to battle with.
• THIRD: Negotiate a clause that gives him what other NFL coaches have: The right to be consulted before trades are made. When JJ famously traded for Trey Lance in 2023, Big Mac was blindsided. He probably would have told Jerry what is now obvious- Lance is not an NFL QB and his skill set does not fit McCarthy’s offense. Maybe he could have saved a wasted 4th round draft pick.

There are probably some more things Big Mac should ask for. We all know Jerry will never again allow a Cowboys HC to have the authority Jimmy did. But McCarthy has certainly earned the respect of his locker room and has seemingly made lemonade out of the lemons Jerry gave him this off-season. Shouldn’t that be worth something in return?

It was supposed to be a prove it year. And the bar was set at advancing past the divisional round.

This team was eliminated from the playoffs with 3 games left. U can harp about injuries all you want. But even when healthy, this team was atrocious early in the year.

I get they have showed fight the last couple months. But if the bar was the divisional round and you don't even sniff the playoffs, how can one argue to extend McCarthy

 

[PAPPYDOG]

Whatever anyone here thinks about Mike McCarthy as a HC, this guy has done a good job keeping his players focused and motivated despite a rash of injuries, a roster that was way less talented than last year, and an owner who hung him out over a cliff without a future.

Despite all that, this team played like last night was a playoff game. The undermanned defense (missing 4 starters) was hitting the bucs like freight trains and swarming to the ball like their hair was in fire. The offense (with 2 starters out and a star WR with an A/C joint needing surgery) made big plays when it had to.

Bottom line: This team looked motivated. Four hours after learning they are eliminated from the playoffs.

So….it appears to me that suddenly Mike McCarthy, who looked like a dead man walking when we were 3-7, now has the inside track to be extended. With Bill Belechick now recruiting teenagers to play at North Carolina, the scenario of a Belechick run as HC in Big D is dead. (I never for one second thought Bill B would ever agree to come here to the Jerry circus anyway)

Now the question becomes, will Jerry now once again see Big Mac as the future? If so, McCarthy needs to use his sudden surge of leverage wisely. If I were in his shoes, I would be negotiating for these changes:

• FIRST: Currently, McCarthy is the 16th highest paid NFL HC. He should seek to get paid in at least the top 10. He’s only making $4 million which is third in the NFC East. He makes less than Dan Quinn in Washington. Jerry is notoriously cheap with coaches. Make him pay you at least $10 mil a season.
• SECOND: He should have it in his contract that he hires his own assistants. Parcells and Jimmy both had that in their contracts. McCarthy has earned the right to have that as well. It’s what normal HCs in this league have - the right to decide who to go to battle with.
• THIRD: Negotiate a clause that gives him what other NFL coaches have: The right to be consulted before trades are made. When JJ famously traded for Trey Lance in 2023, Big Mac was blindsided. He probably would have told Jerry what is now obvious- Lance is not an NFL QB and his skill set does not fit McCarthy’s offense. Maybe he could have saved a wasted 4th round draft pick.

There are probably some more things Big Mac should ask for. We all know Jerry will never again allow a Cowboys HC to have the authority Jimmy did. But McCarthy has certainly earned the respect of his locker room and has seemingly made lemonade out of the lemons Jerry gave him this off-season. Shouldn’t that be worth something in return?

 

[Bobhaze]

It was supposed to be a prove it year. And the bar was set at advancing past the divisional round.

This team was eliminated from the playoffs with 3 games left. U can harp about injuries all you want. But even when healthy, this team was atrocious early in the year.

I get they have showed fight the last couple months. But if the bar was the divisional round and you don't even sniff the playoffs, how can one argue to extend McCarthy

That’s a reasonable argument until you look at who sits in the owners box and GM chair. In a “normal” NFL situation, having the same GM who is 4-13 in the playoffs since his team last won a divisional playoff game is insane. Literally crazy if winning a championship is goal #1 which sadly, it is not here.

In other words, we don’t have a normal NFL situation. So we have to make apple sauce out of the rotten apples served by Jerry and his giggling entitled son.

 

[links18]

What leverage does McCarthy have? Did these problems suddenly get fixed?

Clock management
Play calling
Player management
Penalties (undisciplined)
Bad tackling
General unpreparedness for games

NO. Should he have been fired after GB? YES!

His leverage is Jerry's fear of taking a chance on someone who might not be his puppet. Jerry would have trouble selling him to fan base if they collapsed down the stretch, but all it took was a couple of wins against 2nd and 3rd rate teams for half this board to get hot and bothered over Big Mike, so no wonder Jerry is doing victory dances. He knows he doesn't have to take any risky chances now.