CFZ Why it would've have been better to fire McCarthy than make him a lame duck

[Bobhaze]

After the most embarrassing playoff loss in Cowboys history last January, it made more sense to fire Mike McCarthy and move on than making him a lame duck head coach on the last year of his contract. We have seen this coaching scenario in Big D three times before. In 2010 with Wade Phillips, in 2014 with Jason Garrett and 2019 with Garrett again. Only once (in 2014) did this situation translate to a successful season.

Big Mac has been here four seasons and he’s done a very good job in the regular season. But winning in the regular season is not enough if your team is serious about winning a championship. Winning 1 wild card game in 4 years is not good enough to me for a head coach. In the three losses he’s had in the playoffs here, in two of them his team was just not prepared.

So…IMO Here are the reasons this decision to keep McCarthy in the last year of contract makes little sense:

• It will be very hard for this team to recover mentally from that packer loss with the same head coach. The first time this team has a bad half or bad game, it could easily cause a mental free fall like we saw in 2010 with Wade when that team started the season poorly.
• The early part of the 2024 schedule is not particularly favorable which puts even more pressure on the situation.
• By also having a bizarre off-season where this front office mostly sat on their hands when it came to getting better, it cannot give this lame duck HC, his staff and his players a feeling that the organization has pushed the chips forward for 2024.
• By choosing to not be proactive with contracts AGAIN with several of its star players, it has the appearance that this season is a reset. Which would be fine IF you had a new HC.

The loss to the packers last January was just a complete collapse. How does a team recover mentally from that? And if you wanted to make 2024 the start of something new, why not start that process with a new head coach? Instead of that, we are left wondering what this front office is thinking and planning because in my decades of following this team, the 2024 off-season has been the biggest head scratcher I’ve ever seen.

 

[Rockport]

After the most embarrassing playoff loss in Cowboys history last January, it made more sense to fire Mike McCarthy and move on than making him a lame duck head coach on the last year of his contract. We have seen this coaching scenario in Big D three times before. In 2010 with Wade Phillips, in 2014 with Jason Garrett and 2019 with Garrett again. Only once (in 2014) did this situation translate to a successful season.

Big Mac has been here four seasons and he’s done a very good job in the regular season. But winning in the regular season is not enough if your team is serious about winning a championship. Winning 1 wild card game in 4 years is not good enough to me for a head coach. In the three losses he’s had in the playoffs here, in two of them his team was just not prepared.

So…IMO Here are the reasons this decision to keep McCarthy in the last year of contract makes little sense:

• It will be very hard for this team to recover mentally from that packer loss with the same head coach. The first time this team has a bad half or bad game, it could easily cause a mental free fall like we saw in 2010 with Wade when that team started the season poorly.
• The early part of the 2024 schedule is not particularly favorable which puts even more pressure on the situation.
• By also having a bizarre off-season where this front office mostly sat on their hands when it came to getting better, it cannot give this lame duck HC, his staff and his players a feeling that the organization has pushed the chips forward for 2024.
• By choosing to not be proactive with contracts AGAIN with several of its star players, it has the appearance that this season is a reset. Which would be fine IF you had a new HC.

The loss to the packers last January was just a complete collapse. How does a team recover mentally from that? And if you wanted to make 2024 the start of something new, why not start that process with a new head coach? Instead of that, we are left wondering what this front office is thinking and planning because in my decades of following this team, the 2024 off-season has been the biggest head scratcher I’ve ever seen.

They didn’t fire him so lets move on.

 

[Bobhaze]

They didn’t fire him so let’s move on.

Rock, this is a discussion about the decision to keep McCarthy. If you don’t want to talk about it you’re free to move on.

 

[Rockport]

Rock, this is a discussion about the decision to keep McCarthy. If you don’t want to talk about it you’re free to move on.

He who dwells on the past is doomed to failure.

 

[acr731]

I wish Jerry would have fired him after that embarrassing loss. Then MM could have been the 2nd coach in team history to get fired after getting his butt kicked by Green Bay.

 

[maryquality]

Bobhaze, honestly, after that embarrassing loss to the Packers, I wanted EVERY single one of the coaches fired!!!! I realize now that was just an emotional response. However, the least that should have been done was fire McCarthy. But, he's here this season, and we can only sit back and see how the players respond.

 

[Bobhaze]

He who dwells on the past is doomed to failure.

He who doesn’t learn from the past is doomed to repeat it.

 

[acr731]

Bobhaze, honestly, after that embarrassing loss to the Packers, I wanted EVERY single one of the coaches fired!!!! I realize now that was just an emotional response. However, the least that should have been done was fire McCarthy. But, he's here this season, and we can only sit back and see how the players respond.

I doubt the players listen to MM any more or less than they did to Garrett. Neither one of them has / had any authority.

 

[Rockport]

He who doesn’t learn from the past is doomed to repeat it.

Very true. Just don’t dwell on it over and over and over and over and over……..I get it. Negativity sells here.

 

[sunalsorises]

Jerry could have given him a 2-year extension after the loss. It keeps McCarthy from being a lame duck, it would have been cheap at the time, and Jerry can eat whatever money is left if McCarthy is fired before the end of it.

 

[Bobhaze]

Very true. Just don’t dwell on it over and over and over and over and over……..I get it. Negativity sells here.

No - opinions sell here.

You are free to disagree. The only negativity I see here is you deciding whose opinions are acceptable. You’ve posted now 3 times on an opinion you say is negative and don‘t want to hear. If no one else wants to discuss this topic this thread will die a natural death. Without all the negativity. That’s how opinion forums work.

 

[Rockport]

No opinions sell here.

You are free to disagree. The only negativity I see here is you deciding whose opinions are acceptable. You’ve posted now 3 times on an opinion you say is negative and don‘t want to hear. If no one else wants to discuss this topic this thread will die a natural death. Without all the negativity. That’s how opinion forums work.

You just don’t get it. You’re feeding the frenzy.

 

[doomsday9084]

Let's be honest here. The team had a salary cap crunch this year that was seen for quite some time. This was always going to be a down year, just like it was for Philly last year.

Jerry already had Mike on the hook for guaranteed money. Why pay him to stay home for a down year? If Mike is able to overcome all the adversity and win, that's great. If he doesn't, he is an easy scapegoat. For Jerry, that's great. Either way, Jerry doesn't have to pay two coaches this year. For Jerry, that's also great.

This situation might not be awesome for Mike or the fans but for Jerry, its win-win-win.

 

[75boyz]

After the most embarrassing playoff loss in Cowboys history last January, it made more sense to fire Mike McCarthy and move on than making him a lame duck head coach on the last year of his contract. We have seen this coaching scenario in Big D three times before. In 2010 with Wade Phillips, in 2014 with Jason Garrett and 2019 with Garrett again. Only once (in 2014) did this situation translate to a successful season.

Big Mac has been here four seasons and he’s done a very good job in the regular season. But winning in the regular season is not enough if your team is serious about winning a championship. Winning 1 wild card game in 4 years is not good enough to me for a head coach. In the three losses he’s had in the playoffs here, in two of them his team was just not prepared.

So…IMO Here are the reasons this decision to keep McCarthy in the last year of contract makes little sense:

• It will be very hard for this team to recover mentally from that packer loss with the same head coach. The first time this team has a bad half or bad game, it could easily cause a mental free fall like we saw in 2010 with Wade when that team started the season poorly.
• The early part of the 2024 schedule is not particularly favorable which puts even more pressure on the situation.
• By also having a bizarre off-season where this front office mostly sat on their hands when it came to getting better, it cannot give this lame duck HC, his staff and his players a feeling that the organization has pushed the chips forward for 2024.
• By choosing to not be proactive with contracts AGAIN with several of its star players, it has the appearance that this season is a reset. Which would be fine IF you had a new HC.

The loss to the packers last January was just a complete collapse. How does a team recover mentally from that? And if you wanted to make 2024 the start of something new, why not start that process with a new head coach? Instead of that, we are left wondering what this front office is thinking and planning because in my decades of following this team, the 2024 off-season has been the biggest head scratcher I’ve ever seen.

Appreciate the post Bob.
As not the biggest McCarthy fan here since day one, I will never be able to grasp how he wasn't fired after last year's playoff debacle.

But someone else on another site made an interesting statement regarding McCarthy's recent playoff failures that I hadn't realized.

He's won exactly 1 playoff game in his last 6 years of coaching.

So yeah, as with the rest of this entire team, as far as I'm concerned...
Next man up.

 

[phildadon86]

He who dwells on the past is doomed to failure.

Well that explains why Jerry and his family keep failing then.

 

[Montanalo]

After the most embarrassing playoff loss in Cowboys history last January, it made more sense to fire Mike McCarthy and move on than making him a lame duck head coach on the last year of his contract. We have seen this coaching scenario in Big D three times before. In 2010 with Wade Phillips, in 2014 with Jason Garrett and 2019 with Garrett again. Only once (in 2014) did this situation translate to a successful season.

Big Mac has been here four seasons and he’s done a very good job in the regular season. But winning in the regular season is not enough if your team is serious about winning a championship. Winning 1 wild card game in 4 years is not good enough to me for a head coach. In the three losses he’s had in the playoffs here, in two of them his team was just not prepared.

So…IMO Here are the reasons this decision to keep McCarthy in the last year of contract makes little sense:

• It will be very hard for this team to recover mentally from that packer loss with the same head coach. The first time this team has a bad half or bad game, it could easily cause a mental free fall like we saw in 2010 with Wade when that team started the season poorly.
• The early part of the 2024 schedule is not particularly favorable which puts even more pressure on the situation.
• By also having a bizarre off-season where this front office mostly sat on their hands when it came to getting better, it cannot give this lame duck HC, his staff and his players a feeling that the organization has pushed the chips forward for 2024.
• By choosing to not be proactive with contracts AGAIN with several of its star players, it has the appearance that this season is a reset. Which would be fine IF you had a new HC.

The loss to the packers last January was just a complete collapse. How does a team recover mentally from that? And if you wanted to make 2024 the start of something new, why not start that process with a new head coach? Instead of that, we are left wondering what this front office is thinking and planning because in my decades of following this team, the 2024 off-season has been the biggest head scratcher I’ve ever seen.

It is not unusual to face an expiring work contract... it happens surprisingly often in the business world.

The biggest issue for me is the very real possibility of losing the team (Yikes! Shades of Wade Phillips). In that case you're setting the team up for implosion.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Jerry could have given him a 2-year extension after the loss. It keeps McCarthy from being a lame duck, it would have been cheap at the time, and Jerry can eat whatever money is left if McCarthy is fired before the end of it.

When has Jerry ever paid someone to not work? Not saying whether I agree or disagree...but the one thing about Jerry, if you are getting a paycheck...you are going to work. Now i will say in theory I agree with this mentatlity...but sports simply do not work like normal businesses...which is WHY the value of your business can be greater than any sports franchise in the world without having won anything in almost 30 years.

Either Dak needs an extension...or he simply should not be here. Why did you bring in Trey Lance? It appears to me we will NEVER find out what Trey Lance has. Same for McCarthy....either extend him or move on....but to let the entire QB room and coaching staff play/coach on 1 year deals is just bizarre!!!

 

[John813]

It's an odd situation.

The ownership/front office "wants" to win.
The head coach wants to win.
The Front office didn't want to be aggressive in the offseason to get more vet talent here.

Last year showed there were flaws on this team. No team is perfect, however, Dallas was exploited and failed to adjust/personnel to adjust.

It seemed ownership would of gladly kept Quinn, however, he jumped to Washington.
So, they hire Zimmer, new D-line coach etc... but largely kept the roster the same. Lost Armstrong, Fowler, Hankins etc..
Let Tyron and Biadasz leave too.
Replaced the De's/OL through the draft/Fehoko(?) and to be determined how they replace Hankins.
LVE retired, and they at least got Kendericks.

The front office sat on their hands, again, giving McCarthy largely the same roster and some rookies to fill some big spots.

He's not in the best situation to advance past the wildcard.
I could see that article with MM being frustrated having some smoke to it.

I can't tell if the ownership is now super cheap, or think MM could get it done still. However, it's like Green Bay all over for MM, with a front office that won't open the pocket book to get vet talent.

 

[Bobhaze]

It is not unusual to face an expiring work contract... it happens surprisingly often in the business world.

The biggest issue for me is the very real possibility of losing the team (Yikes! Shades of Wade Phillips). In that case you're setting the team up for implosion.

Good point about the business world. But when it comes to coaching, player and team dynamics, having your HC hanging over a cliff is not the same motivation recipe like it can be for business.

 

[RS12]

You are forgetting about the big league wide problem: Dead money owed to ex coaches cap issue. Jerry says it is a real problem.