CFZ The 2024 Cowboys are walking into a psychological trap

[plymkr]

I actually think McCarthy is the best HC we’ve had since Jimmy.

I would throw Parcells into that conversation as well. But big Mike or Parcells can’t “outcoach” the toxic environment Jerry has created. Sometimes I think the best thing for us is completely collapsing. Like 1-15 type collapse. Some fans on here are saying they want an 0-17 season. I think that season would suck and be painful but overall good for the franchise. Jerry has to be completely and thoroughly embarrassed for him to establish a different culture. Him and Stephen are narcissists and the only way a narcissist changes is by being completely ignored or embarrassed.

But I truly believe we won’t get good enough coaches or players to overcome the toxicity of the culture. I mean Cmon, one of our oldest players on the team said in an interview the team was burned out at the end of the season. It’s funny how the players weren’t too “burned out” of their side hustles and social media posts. Very toxic culture.

 

[Beast_from_East]

That’s an understandable and even logical conclusion. But I don’t think Jerry thinks that way. We’ve seen him do stupid things before all while thinking he was doing the right thing. Like a decade with Garrett, lol. In other words I think Jerry thinks all this is not a bad idea. I could be wrong of course, lol.

Good point, to tank on purpose would imply they have a long-term plan in place...............the truth just might be that there really is no plan

 

[noshame]

Mike is toast.
He was on notice last year but we had a joke of a schedule.
Get used to HC Mike Zimmer

 

[DuncanIso]

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.

Good stuff.

 

[DuncanIso]

big Mike gonna get fired.

 

[DandyDon52]

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.

Did the team quit on wade or because Romo was out for the year??
Back then if no romo, that was it, season over.
I think jerry was dying to install JG his new build a coach idea lol.

 

[cowboyed]

Wait and buy cheap only gets you flawed free agent players either often injured, slackers or not highly football talented.

 

[Bobhaze]

Did the team quit on wade or because Romo was out for the year??
Back then if no romo, that was it, season over.
I think jerry was dying to install JG his new build a coach idea lol.

The team started 1-5 with Romo, so I guess you could argue either way on whether the team quit on Wade.

 

[Bobhaze]

I would throw Parcells into that conversation as well. But big Mike or Parcells can’t “outcoach” the toxic environment Jerry has created.

So true.

 

[Creeper]

The way things are going so far, this has to be a setup. Jerry is doing nothing to improve teh team. He is letting starters go which means the team will most likely be worse than last year. Does he really expect MM to do betting in 2024 with a worse roster?

An while some argue that the players we lost were average or maybe a bit above average, do you really believe Jerry is pay to replace them with better players? or even equal players? The answer is no. He will replace them with cheaper players or rookies and the team will be worse off.

If this is the beginning of a rebuild for Dallas, then just do it completely. Cut or trade Dak, trade some players to stockpile draft picks, and take a losing season for high draft picks next year.

 

[75boyz]

The way things are going so far, this has to be a setup. Jerry is doing nothing to improve teh team. He is letting starters go which means the team will most likely be worse than last year. Does he really expect MM to do betting in 2024 with a worse roster?

An while some argue that the players we lost were average or maybe a bit above average, do you really believe Jerry is pay to replace them with better players? or even equal players? The answer is no. He will replace them with cheaper players or rookies and the team will be worse off.

If this is the beginning of a rebuild for Dallas, then just do it completely. Cut or trade Dak, trade some players to stockpile draft picks, and take a losing season for high draft picks next year.

Yep, well said.
I could support that kind of all in.

 

[Bobhaze]

The way things are going so far, this has to be a setup. Jerry is doing nothing to improve teh team. He is letting starters go which means the team will most likely be worse than last year. Does he really expect MM to do betting in 2024 with a worse roster?

An while some argue that the players we lost were average or maybe a bit above average, do you really believe Jerry is pay to replace them with better players? or even equal players? The answer is no. He will replace them with cheaper players or rookies and the team will be worse off.

If this is the beginning of a rebuild for Dallas, then just do it completely. Cut or trade Dak, trade some players to stockpile draft picks, and take a losing season for high draft picks next year.

Your points here are logical and with a normal FO I could see this happening. But I don’t believe our FO is even capable of doing a strategic rebuild like that. I literally cannot think of a time when this GM has done a rebuild like that without a Jimmy or Parcells - in other words without a strong HC.

It appears that the Jones FO is only capable of building a roster two ways:

• The “draft and develop method”, where you draft well and slowly develop a strong nucleus to build around. (To JJ and SJs credit, they have drafted fairly well since about 2011) Problem is in today’s NFL that’s not enough to build a championship roster. You need some strategic FAs as well.
• The “accidental rebuild”.This happens when the Cowboys have a losing season like in 2015 when they went 4-12, followed by a high draft picks in 2016. That wasn’t strategic, it was dumb luck.

 

[MyFairLady]

People said our loss to GB was because the players were too confident. I got a totally different impression. To me it looked like they were too tense.

IMHO they were just being themselves. Green Bay showed up ready to tear them apart and they folded almost instantly. Absolutely no reason not to expect the exact same thing to happen again.

 

[Creeper]

Your points here are logical and with a normal FO I could see this happening. But I don’t believe our FO is even capable of doing a strategic rebuild like that. I literally cannot think of a time when this GM has done a rebuild like that without a Jimmy or Parcells - in other words without a strong HC.

It appears that the Jones FO is only capable of building a roster two ways:

• The “draft and develop method”, where you draft well and slowly develop a strong nucleus to build around. (To JJ and SJs credit, they have drafted fairly well since about 2011) Problem is in today’s NFL that’s not enough to build a championship roster. You need some strategic FAs as well.
• The “accidental rebuild”.This happens when the Cowboys have a losing season like in 2015 when they went 4-12, followed by a high draft picks in 2016. That wasn’t strategic, it was dumb luck.

This offseason looks like 2017 to me. Jerry will sign some low paid scrubs to fill out the roster and the Cowboys will have a down year. McCarthy will not be re-signed next year and Jerry will hire Bill Belichick as his new head coach. You all know this is what Jerry wants. Hiring BB would put Dallas on the front page for the entire season.

 

[Ranching]

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.

We're walking into that trap with him.

 

[Jarv]

It’s bad. I assume we will jump in FA at some point, but a LT, RB, DT, at minimum two LB’s, Center, and the WR room is ugly as well. That doesn’t even include Corner and DE.

McClay is going to have to work magic for this thing to even work.

We need help at more positions than we have draft picks. Only one way to fix this, our best players will have to play offense and defense.

Think about it, Parsons ca lead the league in rushing as a RB and lead the league in sacks too!

Martin can be all-pro at guard and play NT too!

CD will line up at WR and safety!

I could go on???

 

[Aven8]

We need help at more positions than we have draft picks. Only one way to fix this, our best players will have to play offense and defense.

Think about it, Parsons ca lead the league in rushing as a RB and lead the league in sacks too!

Martin can be all-pro at guard and play NT too!

CD will line up at WR and safety!

I could go on???

I actually played LB and RB, DE at times as well. Got to college and they made me a safety. I’m like these dudes run too much! Lol

 

[SlammedZero]

Just another year wasted for us fans. At least this year I'm going into it like 'meh, whatever'. The Jones' boys have officially crushed my fandom. At least they're good at something.

 

[Verdict]

Great post Bob, as usual.

I hate to even mention it, but it almost seems like they are trying to sabotage the team for next season.

• All the coaches, even the new ones, on 1-yr deals.
• Losing quality free agents and thinking they can just plug all the holes with draft picks.
• Apparently, at least for now, sending the message to Dak that he has to play on the last year of his deal (I am not necessarily against this for the record)
• All our division rivals getting noticeably better, the division is not going to be a cakewalk anymore.

I dont know, maybe I have been wearing a tin foil hat too long, but if you wanted to purposefully tank a season, what they are currently doing would be a good start. I dont know, what do you think Bob?

I am curious what you think the odds are that Dak gets traded before the season starts? Not bringing in any talent to help Dak early on might help decide to waive that no trade clause, right? I’m just saying, that it’s at least a possibility.

 

[Diehardblues]

I would throw Parcells into that conversation as well. But big Mike or Parcells can’t “outcoach” the toxic environment Jerry has created. Sometimes I think the best thing for us is completely collapsing. Like 1-15 type collapse. Some fans on here are saying they want an 0-17 season. I think that season would suck and be painful but overall good for the franchise. Jerry has to be completely and thoroughly embarrassed for him to establish a different culture. Him and Stephen are narcissists and the only way a narcissist changes is by being completely ignored or embarrassed.

But I truly believe we won’t get good enough coaches or players to overcome the toxicity of the culture. I mean Cmon, one of our oldest players on the team said in an interview the team was burned out at the end of the season. It’s funny how the players weren’t too “burned out” of their side hustles and social media posts. Very toxic culture.

Yep

I’m not even sure a Mahomes type could bail us out either.

I’ve always thought it would take the best talent in the league like we had in 1995 to overcome the toxic culture. But remember even then it cost us a championship in 1994 and maybe another one in 1996.