'Surprisingly Passive!' Cowboys' Jerry Jones Ripped By Peter King for Coach Decision
The Dallas Cowboys may have a lame-duck head coach on their hands. The decision to bring Mike McCarthy back isn’t as disastrous as it is unpopular, but it’s hard to blame the fanbase for feeling disenchanted.
Three straight seasons of 12-5 football have ended in catastrophe, the first two at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers and most recently to the Green Bay Packers – the lowest-seeded team in the conference. Stagnation has become the expectation, and Dallas owner Jerry Jones’ hesitation to send shockwaves throughout the organization has optimism flatlining.
It would be one thing to consider the regular-season success indicative of a team on the verge of putting it all together. But the same issues continue to pop up, with no sign of change other than a press conference’s reassurance that next year will be the year.
Jerry and McCarthy
Needless to say, people aren’t impressed with the job McCarthy has done and the owner’s unwillingness to do anything about it.
In his column, Peter King joined the masses in their collective disapproval.
“The way these last three seasons have ended is beyond concerning,” King wrote. “The clock mismanagement at the end of the home playoff loss to the Niners two years ago. The utter offensive toothlessness at San Francisco last year. Falling behind 27-0 after 19 minutes to the seventh-seeded Packers at home.
“Seriously: With the same staff and same core, do you really expect anything different in 2024?”
The future is murky at best, even if they’ll have favorable odds of yet again making the playoffs. Having a franchise quarterback will do that for a team. Wasting his talents generally ends in higher-ups losing their jobs.
The Philadelphia Eagles aren’t likely to have a sinkhole open below their season for a second consecutive year. The Washington Commanders might have the hottest head coaching-quarterback combination on the block. They’ve shown no ability to even contend with the San Francisco 49ers or Green Bay Packers.
Is anyone confident they’ll be better than the Detroit Lions or the Los Angeles Rams? It’s clear that, at least for next season, they won’t be better-coached. The Cowboys are asking to spend perpetuity in the first two rounds of the NFC playoffs.
They can wait for variance to kick in and a few lucky bounces to go their way, but what regression is coming to save them? Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, and CeeDee Lamb stayed healthy, as did the offensive line. Cornerback Trevon Diggs isn’t making up that difference.
Dallas had an incredibly easy schedule and will get a fresh set of first-place teams in 2024. It’s going to take an impressive coaching job just to win the NFC East again, and even that doesn’t guarantee the season ends any more favorably.
“This is a franchise that needs to be taken by the scruff of the neck, shaken, and changed from the inside out,” King wrote. “But no. Jones is running it back.”
King acknowledged the head coaching candidate Bill Belichick may not have wanted to deal with all that comes with the star. He posits “Belichick Lite” – former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel – would be an acceptable man for the job. A certified leader of men and the best-developed Patriot Way south of Boston, Vrabel in many ways is everything McCarthy isn’t.
Maybe that would be enough of a changeup to trick the Cowboys into winning something.
“For a man who made millions risking it all in the oil business, Jones has been surprisingly passive in trying to win it all over the past 28 years,” King concluded.
Perhaps another unsuccessful changing of the guard is what Jones is afraid of. The one constant in Dallas' losing ways is the one man who won’t be fired, regardless of the team’s performance.
