Dallas, TX
USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Candidate To Replace Dallas Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy?
As week five of the NFL season approaches, discussion of which NFL head coaches are on the hot seat is trending. One big name is Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy. Why is McCarthy on the hot seat? McCarthy’s 1-3 NFL playoff record with Dallas leaves much to be desired. He is on the final year of his contract with the Cowboys.
One college football coach to keep an eye on is USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley. Coach Riley’s name is already in discussion to be a top candidate, along with legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick.
On the first Sunday of the 2024 NFL season, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott signed a four-year extension. This contract makes Prescott the Cowboys quarterback for the foreseeable future. If there is one coach that can bring out the best in Prescott it is Coach Riley. He has coached several NFL quarterbacks, including Caleb Williams, Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray, and Baker Mayfield.
Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb also signed a four-year extension with the Cowboys in September. This keeps Prescott and Lamb together. With the top offensive pieces already there, Coach Riley would be coming into a team with some elite talent.
The Cowboys are 2-2 coming off of an NFC East win against the New York Giants. Dallas lost to the New Orleans Saints and the Baltimore Ravens.
So far, Prescott has thrown for 1,072 passing yards and six touchdowns, with two interceptions and has been sacked 10 times this year. There has been little to no run game for the Cowboys offense. They have a total of 301 rushing yards this year. The leading rusher is running back Rico Dowdle with 134 yards.
McCarthy was hired as the Cowboys head coach in January 2020. The 2020 season was the worst by the Cowboys under McCarthy’s reign only winning six games. From 2021 to 2023 the Cowboys ended the regular season with a 12-5 record. The issue has not been in the regular season as much as it has been in the playoffs.
The Cowboys have not made it past the divisional round with McCarthy as the coach. Dallas lost in the wildcard round in 2021 and 2023 and lost in the divisional round in 2022. The wild card loss from the 2023 season was a blowout by the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys were the number two seed, and the Packers were the seventh.
Even if McCarthy and the Cowboys turn it around in the regular season, it is the playoffs that matter. If they lose in playoffs early again, it is expected that this is the end of Coach McCarthy’s time in Dallas.
Throughout Coach Riley’s career, he has not yet made the move to the NFL. There is no indication of if he would be interested in the job yet. He is currently focusing on the 2024 USC season. Riley is a constant name brought up during NFL coaching changes though, and this could be the year he does move to the league.
Before the Cowboys hired McCarthy in 2020, Riley was the name to watch during that time as well. Considering Coach Riley’s name has been involved with the Cowboys since the 2019 season if McCarthy does lose his head coaching job, Coach Riley’s name will be one to watch.
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Johnston gave the Stars a 1-0 lead at 8:58 of the first period. His slap shot from above the right face-off circle deflected off Wild forward Danila Yurov and then bounced off the end boards and in off Wallstedt’s left arm.
“I’ve had a goal like that go in on me, too, that’s a tough bounce,” Oettinger said. “Like I said in Game 1, we got some bad bounces. We got a nice bounce there. We had one where I was behind the net, and the guy was shooting it in the net and our (defense) stopped it, so we got some good bounces. The way we played the last 40 minutes of the game, I think, didn’t give up much, had a ton of good chances offensively. The power play, we got looks and our (penalty kill) was great. If we kind of build off the game that we played the last 40 minutes, I think we should feel very good for the next few games.”
Faber tied it 1-1 at 11:33. He took a pass from Hughes, skated around Robertson in the left circle and cut to the slot, where his wrist shot ramped up and in off Oettinger.
Duchene put the Stars back up 2-1 with a power-play goal at 4:02 of the second period. Mikko Rantanen gained the offensive zone along the right boards and sent a backhand pass to Duchene, who snapped the puck between Wallstedt’s pads from in front.
Robertson made it 3-1 at 7:09 of the third period when he tipped Lundkvist’s wrist shot from the blue line past the right pad of Wallstedt.
“I think we got to do a better job, I mean, the odd-man’s, right? I thought we played a really good game. Probably their best game, you know, meaningful game. And, yeah, we didn’t get fazed by it. Was really good by us. Just got to be smarter in some areas, and we get to go back home and in front of our crowd,” Minnesota forward Marcus Foligno said. “They want (penalties). I mean, they’re looking to play 5-on-4. I mean, that’s their game. They can’t hang with us 5-on-5. We got to just be smarter, and myself included. But it’s a heated game out there. You’re gonna have emotional swings and learn from it. We got a split series.”
Jeff Kolb and Sam Gannon welcome Cowboys insiders Clarence Hill (All City Dallas) and Calvin Watkins (Dallas Morning News) for a hilarious breakdown of the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. Giving insight, arguments, and plenty of laughs as two of the best Dallas Cowboys writers in the business go head-to-head on what Dallas should do next.
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