Dallas, TX
The McCarthy Chronicles: Will anything ever change for the Cowboys?
The 2023 season may very well go down as the biggest disappointment in Cowboys franchise history. How could it not? The team dominated opponents at home, going 8-0 in AT&T Stadium, and then secured the NFC East title and second seed in the playoffs. They would have at least two home playoff games if they advanced, setting the stage beautifully for a return to the conference championship game.
And now it’s all over. An embarrassment at the hands of the Packers, a team that barely snuck into the playoffs with the youngest roster in the league. A quarterback making his first playoff start ever dominating a supposedly elite defense. And an offense that’s put up gaudy numbers at home all year couldn’t get going until the two-minute warning in the first half.
Understandably, there are already deafeningly loud calls for Mike McCarthy’s job. That reaction makes sense, because this really did seem like the team’s best shot through the playoffs in years. And there’s no telling what Jerry Jones might do, even as he’s become more patient in the last decade or so.
While fans can easily shout “fire everyone” as a kneejerk response to this kind of disappointment, Jones has more to consider. Namely, what comes next?
Jones had stuck with Jason Garrett for a long time in large part because he wasn’t sure there was a material upgrade out there. Sure, Jones could go hire some up-and-coming coordinator, but that was what Garrett had been when he was elevated to interim head coach. And a big part of the struggles for Garrett was a coach who was learning on the job with sky-high expectations.
When Jones did eventually make a move, he did so because of who was available: Mike McCarthy, a seasoned coach with a Lombardi on his bookshelf. He had crafted electric offenses, built and rebuilt successful coaching staffs, and navigated all the trials and tribulations that a coach has to manage. And he did all of that while living up to the expectations of a storied franchise like the Packers.
It wasn’t said out loud at the time, but McCarthy’s hire felt like a “if he can’t do it, nobody can” sentiment. And, for the most part, McCarthy has done it. Three straight 12-win seasons and three straight playoff appearances, something this franchise hasn’t seen since the 90’s, not to mention the offense taking a huge leap forward in production this year when McCarthy took over play-calling. But you can’t put any of that on a banner and hang it from the rafters.
So as the Cowboys now go through another round of exit interviews without any real playoff success, the question must be centered on what comes next. It wasn’t until McCarthy’s fifth season in Green Bay that he won the Super Bowl, and prior to that season he had just one career playoff win. Similarly, Andy Reid had just one playoff win in his first five seasons with the Chiefs, but he reached the conference championship game in the sixth season and won a ring in the seventh season. Can the Cowboys afford to be that patient with McCarthy?
More importantly, can they afford not to be?
A long list of candidates to replace McCarthy in Dallas has since popped up with just about every sports book, and the most common names are veteran coaches. Bill Belichick is the most prevalent one, and for good reason. Belichick is regarded as the greatest coach in history, with six Super Bowl wins to his name. He’s also close with both Jerry and Stephen Jones.
But Belichick is, for the first time in his career, a coaching free agent. And that’s for a reason. Those six rings all came with Tom Brady under center. Since Brady left New England, Belichick is 29-38 with just one playoff appearance and no playoff victories. Belichick, who also functioned as the de facto general manager, struggled to build an offense around the young Mac Jones and dealt a fatal blow to the quarterback when he replaced his outgoing offensive coordinator with two failed head coaches, Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, neither of whom had any experience coordinating an offense.
This past season, as the Patriots won just four games and played the worst football by far of the Belichick era, it became clear that the legendary coach known for his schematic adaptability has not adapted to the latest trends in football. While Belichick remains a defensive mastermind, the Patriot Way is not a blueprint for success in 2023. So why would the Cowboys want to try it out, aside from the simple satisfaction of saying “Hey, we fired a coach with one Super Bowl to hire a coach with six Super Bowls”?
Aside from Belichick, the other two most common names are Mike Vrabel and Jim Harbaugh, two other experienced coaches. Vrabel posted winning seasons in his first four years as head coach of the Titans but, like his mentor Belichick, things fizzled out as the offense became stale and unreliable.
Harbaugh had great success in his last NFL stint, leading the 49ers, but his eccentric personality clashed with the general manager and, when push came to shove, ownership chose the general manager. Harbaugh then went to his alma mater and just led the Michigan Wolverines to a national title, though not without controversy.
All of these coaches are popular flavors of the month right now, but it seems as if their best attribute is simply not being the coach who just lost to the Packers. Of the three of them, Belichick is the only to actually accomplish more than McCarthy in the NFL. Even then, his greatest accomplishments are well behind him.
The Cowboys could always look to hire a young up-and-comer, too. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is the hottest name in this hiring cycle, and Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is gaining traction too. But what sense does it make to fire a coach as experienced as McCarthy for not being able to get it done and then pivot to someone with literally no experience leading a team? Johnson or Slowik might be great head coaches, but it’s impossible to deny that any team hiring them is gambling on being right in that evaluation.
That’s the underlying reason why teams rarely fire their head coach after winning seasons. In fact, the only coach to ever be fired after three straight 12+ win seasons was John Fox. And while the Broncos won the Super Bowl the very next year, they haven’t even made the playoffs since then.
Maybe that’s a trade the Cowboys are willing to make, but it shouldn’t be. Under McCarthy’s watch, this team has enjoyed unprecedented levels of consistency and success. The lack of postseason success is maddening, but Super Bowl teams aren’t built in one offseason. Firing McCarthy, as cathartic as it might feel in the moment, would drastically shift this team’s championship window, and not in a good way.
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
Dallas, TX
Akheem Mesidor selected by Cowboys by Blogging The Boys in SB Nation’s community mock draft
Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami
Pass rush has been an issue since the Micah Parsons trade. The Rashan Gary trade helped, but Dallas still needs an injection of talent. Akheem Mesidor fits here because his body size allows for some versatility inside and out, something DC Christian Parker utilizes. Mesidor is also a high-motor player with a deep bag of pass rush moves.
His last season at Miami was full of disruption in the offensive backfield and he shows an all-around game, not just a bend-around-the-edge pass rusher. Yes, he’s a little older than you’d like in a rookie (25), but his motor, pass rush toolbox, and ability to play the run matches up with a need and makes him a quality pick at number 20.
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