Cowboys Coach Mike McCarthy Reacts to Dan Quinn, Kellen Moore News - Press Conference: Live Updates
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FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys are at a crossroads of sorts entering this offseason, and changes are already being made to the coaching staff. But one move on Thursday is a massive positive, as defensive coordinator Dan Quinn told CowboysSI.com that he is for a second straight season pulling himself out of the head coaching carousel and is staying with the Cowboys as their defensive coordinator for the 2023 season.
"We’re all extremely excited to have Dan back,'' said coach Mike McCarthy. "This is big for us. It gives us continuity. Frankly, on a personal note, I can’t tell you how thankful I am.''
Before all of that went down, McCarthy held a press conference and announced on Thursday that the team has not renewed contracts for coaches ... And we walk you through the chronology of the day at The Star below ...
Not returning ...
Rob Davis (Assistant Head Coach), George Edwards (Senior Defensive Assistant), Leon Lett (Assistant Defensive Line) Skip Pete (Running Backs), Joe Philbin (Offensive Line), Kyle Valero (Quality Control Analytics).
In the statement, McCarthy thanked them for their time in Dallas:
"We thank these men for their hard work, dedication and contributions to the Cowboys. Each of them represented our team and organization at a high, professional level with class and commitment to making our team better," said McCarthy.
"These were difficult decisions to make because of the great respect I have for each of them as a coach and person of character, combined with the experiences we've all gone through together. This is the hardest part of the business and we wish them nothing but the best."
McCarthy will address the media on Thursday and discuss most likely those moves among many others coming, and Cowboys Country will keep you updated on his discussion as it happens.
*As of 3:10 PM we're still waiting for McCarthy to arrive at the podium.
McCarthy - I have a list of 12 questions and one of the questions is about the locker room. In 17 years I've never seen a group talk about the locker room the way this year's team talks about the connection they have and that's something I take tremendous pride in.
We have a lot to build off of and an incredibly strong locker room as far as connection and belief in what we're doing and how we're doing it and in our ability to win.
The reality is we don't get to pick up where we left off, with 13 wins. You start all over again. There's always change, to our roster and adjustments, but we have a whole lot to emphasize in the locker room.
Q: Have you found that sort of connection helps the inevitable change because everyone's on the same page?
A: I'm not sure what you mean by "inevitable change", but I think a big part of having a strong locker room is having the trust and maturity to handle change professionally. No one likes change. Yesterday was not a good day in the realm of personal relationships, but it's part of our business. This is part of how we move forward whether you agree with it or not. It's an opportunity for growth.
Q: How do you feel about what you have coming out of this year compared to what you felt last year?
A: I'm still stung from Sunday, and I'm sure I was last year too. The players give me great confidence and energy about this championship program we're building and the chance to take it to the next step. ... Everyone felt we took a next step from the year before but we're all definitely disappointed because we didn't get to where we wanted to go.
Q: How quickly do you want to get the rest of the staff stuff resolved?
A: It's important to go through an evaluation process, and I hear I'm either taking too long or going to fast. I don't have a timeline for you.
Q: Looking back on the decision to move on from Amari, do you think you were relying too much on Gallup to come back from the ACL? Should you have approached that differently?
A: I think those are great questions and those questions will be asked in the future. You're always looking at your decision making and you're always evaluating it because those are always in front of you.
Q: How would you summarize or assess the season Dak Prescott had? What needs to happen around him or for him to get where you want him to be?
A: I think the assessment is something we need to continue to look at through the evaluation process. We need to look at "did we grow as much as we want to?" I'm sure those outlooks will be positive in nature. To summarize, we came up short. So we're all part of that and it starts with me. But statistically, I thought he did some great things.
Q: What would need to happen around him or for him in order to get beyond that proverbial playoff hump?
A: I think the one thing that doesn't get talked about much when you talk about advancing your football team, there are offseason grades and about who you bring in. There will be self-improvement within our roster and I love our three draft classes. That all plays into that jump I know we'll make internally.
Q: What are you most proud of for the guys that they were able to accomplish this year?
A: I think the connection. That's reflected clearly in their exit interviews and comments. Their work ethic, the rules, and evaluation going through their work ethic. They had a very consistent work ethic. That's obvious by winning 13 games.
Q: What do you say to your fan base who says it's been 27 years since we've gotten one of those trophies?
A: We're all just as disappointed as those fans and I do want to acknowledge the fans as incredible. When you go to a road game with rowdy fans and you can still hear your fan base I think it speaks volumes. We talk about this regularly as far as how our fan base is heard on the road so the support is incredible. I'll tell you this, from the moment I walked off the field I was already thinking about change, so all I can ask is please have confidence and clear understanding in that we're going to do everything we have to do to get this trophy.
Q: You mentioned conversations with Jerry about some of these staff changes and some of these guys have been here since long before you came here. As you go through these conversations, where do you feel like your relationship is with Jerry?
A: The conversations were more about design, philosophy, and structure and how it would apply to the advancement of the staff. Regarding our relationship, we're in an excellent spot. He's told me a number of times this week that he wants me to coach here as long as coach Landry did. I said, 'OK, that's a long time.'
"I feel really good about our relationship and our ability to discuss and disagree, we do a good job with that. You have to be able to have those conversations. I thought he was incredible with the team on Monday.
Q: You talked about evaluating Dak and going back to last season for the first six games he was definitely in a zone. What do you remember about that and why has it been so hard to get him to play consistently like that again?
A: I think there's been consistency like that this year. Interceptions are definitely important plays in a game, but there's still another 32, 33 balls he throws in a game and the productivity that comes off of that speaks for itself. Dak's been through some things last year and this year with injuries, and his resilience is outstanding and his ability to come back from injury is what you're looking for. I don't think there's a more respected man in that locker room. When you take a step back and remove the emotion about how our season ended, I think there's an incredible amount of productivity there.
Q: How much did you want or need to hear that from Jerry that he wants you to coach here as long as coach Landry was here considering all the talk lately about your job status?
A: I get to talk to Jerry a lot, so I've never felt that. The narrative is externally generated and I think the industry should show more respect to the individuals. Change is part of it, was all understand it, but these guys' families have to listen to some of the things that are said, and it's not right. No different from my family.
Q: You've talked in the past about the thing you miss most is play-calling. Is that possible depending on where this thing goes in the offseason depending on what happens with Kellen or anyone else?
A: Excellent creativity on asking a question that I've already answered. I'm just getting started on the evaluation and I'm not calling plays this week. I think I've expressed confidence in the plays that were being called and the game plan that was being built and so forth. I get the result, and it's because of the result we had that I have to answer these questions.
Q: How close do you think this team is to getting over the hump?
A: Like I said, you don't get to pick up where you left off and I think our foundation is clearly stronger as we have more experience and we have guys who have improved. This draft class is clearly the best of the three, and I'm extremely excited about the future. It may not look like it right now, but we just have a lot of work to do and this is the time to start.
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