7 Mike McCarthy replacements Cowboys need to hire after another playoff disaster
Coming into the Wild Card Round of the 2023-24 NFL Playoffs, there were reports indicating that Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy could potentially be coaching for his job. Yes, the team earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC, but another playoff letdown reportedly would have Jerry Jones evaluating all of his options with the coaching staff.
Time to start evaluating, Jerry.
McCarthy's Cowboys came out at home, where they'd been dominant all season long, and had their lunch ate by the head coach's former team, the Green Bay Packers. This is another year in which Dallas has entered the playoffs and looked precisely nothing like the team that fans watched in the regular season. Sure, the players must shoulder some of that blame, but the bulk of it rightfully is on the shoulders of McCarthy, the man calling the shots.
The Cowboys have won a lot of games since McCarthy replaced Jason Garrett, but it's time for Jerry Jones to level up this team. He needs to fire Mike McCarthy and replace him with one of these seven head coaches that can actually get the Dallas Cowboys to reach their Super Bowl ceiling.
7. Dan Quinn, Dallas Cowboys DC
If Dan Quinn was auditioning for any vacant head coaching jobs, for which he's already been mentioned as a candidate for the likes of the Seahawks and other openings, then he probably won't be going anywhere should McCarthy stay. His Cowboys defense was absolutely torched on Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium.
Quinn has built a stellar resumé with the Cowboys, who hired him after a failed stint as the Atlanta Falcons head coach. Over the past three seasons, Dallas' defense has ranked No. 5 (2023), No. 4 (2022) and No. 4 (2021) in Defensive DVOA, which is a testament to Quinn's defensive mind.
Amid that run of success for the defense as well, we've also seen the breakout of legitimate stars like Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland and even lesser-known commodities like Osa Odighizuwa. Yes, some of those players would've made their mark no matter who was at DC, but Quinn has shown the ability to get the most out of these players quickly.
Given the success he's had in Dallas, he'd have to be a candidate that Jerry Jones would consider if McCarthy gets the axe. Having said that, he would not be at the top of my list of potential McCarthy replacements simply because of his overall lack of success when he was a head coach in this league previously.