The Top 4 Reasons the Jones Family Chose McCarthy to Coach the Cowboys

FRISCO - Someday, the Dallas Cowboys would love to be able to boast that the January 2020 hiring of Mike McCarthy was executed as the result of a million good reasons. But at the moment? In our conversations with those involved in the process, the Jones family has four primary reasons for selecting McCarthy as the replacement for the departed Jason Garrett:

1) Dak-Friendliness - McCarthy has a rich history of QB development. He was with the Packers as a quarterbacks coach for one year and a head coach for 13 and during that time helped Brett Favre in his final years in Green Bay before pairing with Aaron Rodgers for great success.

Is it asking too much for McCarthy to do the same with Dallas QB Dak Prescott? Sure. But Prescott is coming off his best season, is going to become the highest-paid player in franchise history, and is a centerpiece of an offensive philosophy that is about to put things in gear.

Per PFF, McCarthy's Packers with Rodgers used no-huddle on 20.7 percent of plays from 2014-18. Garrett's Cowboys and Dak? The no-huddle was used on just nine percent of plays.

To be fair, some of that period was about Prescott learning on the job. But now? Speed it up, Cowboys ... a good offense should RUN MORE PLAYS.

The Joneses are about to pay more. They are about to want more.

2) Comfortability - For a moment, there was a concern among Cowboys watchers that Jerry - despite promising "change'' - was going to replace Garrett with someone "in the Cowboys family. No, not literally someone named "Jones,'' but someone with an established relationship with the Joneses.

It's important for any coach to mesh with the boss. But "comfortability'' of that sort can also be a dirty word. We believe Dallas' research into potential candidates ran much deeper than just "the Joneses interviewing two candidates, McCarthy and Marvin Lewis'' ... but that McCarthy's day-long session on Saturday essentially ended the search.

And know that settling on McCarthy in less than 48 hours came only after Jerry and Stephen and McCarthy and "The Sleepover'' (the coach bunking not at Jerry's mansion but rather at the Omni Hotel at The Star) created a bond ... with a five-year contract ... but not with the negativity of "comfortability.''

3) Head-to-Head - The Cowboys know Mike McCarthy in one very particular and irritating way: When Dallas plays against him, Dallas pretty much loses.

McCarthy went 7-3 against the Cowboys while in charge in Green Bay, including two playoff wins. Rodgers, obviously, was the key there. But can you blame the Joneses for wondering if that record would be flipped if the head coaches were flipped?

In the end, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em'' came into play.

4) The Makeover - "The McCarthy Project'' put this 56-year-old coach, who was dismissed by the Packers and therefore sat out 2019, back on the map. The NFL Network piece on McCarthy is Hollywood-level stuff, including every movie touchstone theme, from "redemption'' to Mike weeping about his love of family and football.

Your new #Cowboys head coach. pic.twitter.com/sbaoAElIEE
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 6, 2020

Jerry and Stephen walked out of the "theater'' with a two-thumbs-up review, having learned about McCarthy in a short-cut manner, enjoying everything from his ties to family (something the Joneses are very much about) to his new-appreciation for analytics (something on which the Cowboys spend a great deal of money. ... much of it seemingly under-utilized by Garrett.

What's next? The opportunity for Mike McCarthy and the Cowboys to put on display the four reasons ... and many more.

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