The Dallas Cowboys visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. The Cowboys have won 12 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1995 under head coach Mike McCarthy, who was hired in 2020 to bring playoff success to the franchise after Jason Garrett’s tenure frequently ended with the team getting eliminated earlier than expected. Although McCarthy has provided regular season success, and even an NFC East championship in 2021, he has yet to secure a playoff win — Dallas hosted the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card round last season, but suffered an embarrassing loss by running the clock out on a quarterback draw.
Firing a coach after consecutive 12-win seasons seems counterintuitive, but the Cowboys limped to the end of regular season by barely beating a 1-win Texans team, blowing a 17-point lead to the Jaguars, and getting embarrassed by a Commanders team that had nothing to play for and started a rookie quarterback. But despite any belief that McCarthy might be in trouble if the team sees its postseason come to a premature end, Jerry Jones went on a local radio station this week to dispel that notion.
Jerry’s full answer, with the voice raise y’all can hear for yourselves:pic.twitter.com/JImnLmLUat
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) January 10, 2023
“No,” Jones said when asked if an early loss could lead to McCarthy losing his job. “I don’t even want to … no. That’s it. I don’t need to go into all the pluses or minuses, but I’ve got a lot more to evaluate Mike McCarthy on than this playoff game.”
Jones is known for talking a big game, but if the Cowboys lose on Monday night — especially if it’s in an embarrassing manor — it will be interesting to see how he manages McCarthy.