Jerry Jones should have learned from his mistake the last time he did this. It’s been reported that there’s a chance Mike McCarthy comes back after this season as players are backing the coach despite a horrid season.
Jones brought back Jason Garrett after he should have been fired and that didn’t go well. Why does he think there’s a chance it could work out with McCarthy?
According to Jon Machota, who covers the Cowboys for The Athletic, there’s talks of Jones considering running it back with McCarthy. And honestly it just doesn’t make any sense. With or without Dak Prescott, this Cowboys season has gone off the rails.
And McCarthy is responsible for that. If Jones brings back McCarthy, it’s not because he’s the best coaching candidate out there. It’s because no one wants to deal with having an owner that’s too hands-on.
Jones can push McCarthy around. He won’t be fortunate enough to do that with this pool of coaches. And it will be a familiar feeling for Cowboys fans if after this season concludes, McCarthy returns on a contract extension.
Mike McCarthy returning to the Dallas Cowboys next season would do more harm than good
We’ve already seen the best the Cowboys are going to be as long as McCarthy is the coach. Before this season, he had three straight 12-win seasons and only has one playoff win to show for it.
That’s the best the Dallas Cowboys will be. Because if it wasn’t, of the three times they reached 12 wins, they would have been on a deeper playoff run than one win. Kyle Shanahan led the San Francisco 49ers to two Super Bowls in the last five seasons.
Why can’t McCarthy get there? The expectations are high and every year, McCarthy is bailed out with excuse after excuse. Well if Jones knew what the best thing for this team was, he wouldn’t give McCarthy another chance to ruin another season for the Cowboys.
But Jones doesn’t have the team’s success at the forefront. It’s why they haven’t made any real moves to improve the roster. And it's why he’s even entertaining bringing McCarthy back.
Cowboys fans deserve better, for better or worse. They deserve an owner who truly cares about winning a championship again. They deserve a coach who can win when it matters and won’t get a slap on the wrist for mediocre seasons.
But that’s asking a lot of Jones. So if McCarthy does come back next season, don’t expect any different than what he’s already done. He won’t win more than 12 wins in the regular season and will find a way to lose a playoff game, whether it's in the first or second round.