Cowboys could turn on Mike McCarthy in favor of a much better option

Since Mike McCarthy was hired as head coach in 2020, the Dallas Cowboys have won 43 regular season games, fourth-most during that span.

McCarthy's staunchest supporters will point to his winning percentage during his five-year tenure, and they aren't entirely wrong to do so. McCarthy has led Dallas to 12 wins in three consecutive seasons, and only the Kansas City Chiefs have won more regular season games than Dallas in the past three seasons.

The significant difference, of course, comes in the postseason. McCarthy's teams have produced just one playoff victory — a 31-14 win against a depleted Tampa Bay Buccaneers team after the 2022 season. Nearly three decades after the Cowboys won their last Super Bowl, team owner Jerry Jones is getting antsy.

In 2024, McCarthy will need more than just regular season wins to retain his employment in Dallas. The Cowboys decided not to extend McCarthy's contract, which is set to expire after this season. If the Cowboys fall flat in the postseason once again, Dallas will likely look for new leadership in the offseason.

Cowboys could replace Mike McCarthy with Bill Belichick in 2025

Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News suggested the Cowboys should consider hiring Bill Belichick as their next head coach.

If Jerry Jones is looking for postseason success, there is no better option. As a head coach, Belichick has won 31 playoff games and six Super Bowl championships, the most by any head coach in NFL history. He added two additional championships as a defensive coordinator during his time as the New York Giants defensive coordinator.

Belichick has praised the Cowboys roster this season, particularly raving about quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, kicker Brandon Aubrey and kick returner KaVontae Turpin.

Assuming Jones would be willing to cede control of roster management, Belichick would be a perfect fit for Dallas. The all-time great coach has been known for building rosters that play fundamentally-sound and disciplined football, particularly late in the season. Few, if any, people in the world understand the history and strategy of football better than Belichick.

In the playoffs, the difference between winning and losing often comes down to the details rather than the talent, and the Cowboys undisciplined and sloppy play has been a factor in their postseason blunders.

The playoff woes in Dallas extend far beyond McCarthy's tenure. The 10 winningest teams of the past 20 years have all won at least 56 percent of their regular season games. Nine of those 10 teams have managed to win at least one Super Bowl championship in the past 20 years. The Cowboys, of course, are the only team that hasn't been able to hoist a Lombardi Trophy.

The Cowboys have the fourth-longest conference championship game appearance drought in the league. When the Cowboys culminated their dynastic run with a Super Bowl title in 1995, nobody would have guessed that they wouldn't appear in another NFC Championship Game for over 28 years. If Dallas wants to avoid a 30-year drought, Belichick may provide them the best chance to find success.