Mike McCarthy’s job should be in jeopardy after his Dallas Cowboys’ disastrous loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Arlington, Texas.
The Cowboys have one of the most talented lineups in the league, but many NFL sources weren’t surprised to see Dallas fall short of success due to poor game management and McCarthy’s decision making in the big place.
The signing of QB Dak Prescott with 14 seconds left in the 41-yard line for the Niners to lose 23–17 with no timeouts ended Dallas’ chance of winning.
One analytical coach told the Daily News that even the premise of QB’s hidden play of getting close to the end zone for a better shot is not true.
He said there was no significant difference in a team’s chances of scoring a goal in one play from the 45-yard line compared to the 25-yard line. It only matters when the infringement reaches the 15-yard line. Niners 24 before the clock expired.
There was also not enough time to ensure the Cowboys finished Game 2 with 14 seconds left. This reflected a fundamental misunderstanding of the game. And while offensive coordinator Kellen Moore reportedly called the game, McCarthy signed on.
Prescott’s run into the umpire definitely cost the Cowboys a second, but they were never supposed to be in that spot to begin with, and Prescott never physically passed the ball.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan that he expects McCarthy to remain the team’s head coach. “Absolutely. Very confident,” he said.
However, Jerry Jones’ post-match reaction sounded like a foretaste of a hard look at McCarthy.
“I think now is the time when you are bringing this combination of players together, you need to succeed,” Jones told reporters. “Because we all know how it is in the NFL: everything is done to take away the best and add to what needs to be improved. And in terms of staff, I think we have one of the best.”
Jones is right. Cowboys have a lot of talent. That’s why he extended the contract of de facto CEO Will McClay this week before any team could interview him and poach him.
McCarthy, 58, is 18-15-0 in two seasons. Last year, Prescott suffered a season-ending injury. But this year the Cowboys were 6-0 against the NFC East and 6-6 against everyone else.
Dallas also got 14 penalties and they ended it with a circus act early in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys hit a fake punt on the fourth down, but then they tried to trick the 49ers defense by leaving the team on the field for the first down, only to get a game penalty reprieve as they launched a last-minute offense.
Jones defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is also arguably the hottest head coach candidate on the market right now, and the only way to keep him is to fire McCarthy and promote him to the big chair. It is likely that Jones will lose at least one of his coordinators due to the hiring of a head coach, and possibly both.
The owner of the Cowboys has a lot to think about, but not much time to make a decision. Clearly, he was brewing after the loss. It will be interesting to see if he listens to his intuition or remains patient with a coach whose process seems to be fundamentally flawed.
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Bengals coach Zach Taylor had a 2-14-0 record in 2019, a 4-11-1 record in 2020 with Joe Burrow injured as a rookie, then led Cincinnati (10-7) to the playoffs with a healthy Burrow in a year. three. Taylor, 38, and the Bengals just beat the Las Vegas Raiders in the Wild Card round and set up a date with the AFC Tennessee Titans top players.
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan went 6–10 in 2017 after being hired to team with general manager John Lynch. In 2018, they dropped to a 4-12 record but then turned it around by posting a 13-3 record and winning the Super Bowl in their third year. In 2020, the 49ers were 6-10 years behind, mostly due to injuries. But this year, Shanahan brought them back to the playoffs 10-7, upset Dallas on Sunday and set up a divisional trip back and forth to the Green Bay Packers.
Meanwhile, the Giants’ Joe Judge was 6-10 in his first year, which is an overachiever considering the roster he inherited. He was 4-13 in his second year after losing his quarterback and most of his team to injuries. And then he was fired after two seasons because he was saddled by legacy GM Dave Gettleman and never worked with a GM who shared his vision of building a roster.
It’s a nice parallel look at why some organizations succeed and why others fail, how winning is a process, but the Giants never allow the process they promised Judge to fully develop.
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Expect the Giants’ hiring process to begin on Tuesday after GM’s interview with the 49ers’ Ran Carton and Adam Peters concludes on Monday. The Giants are expected to advance to the second round of the selected finalists in person after the virtual hosting of the first round. The team may also need to start interviewing a head coach along with the search for a general manager, given the eight current head coach vacancies and competition for candidates.
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Many league sources are following New Orleans with curiosity about how head coach Sean Payton is going to do. The Saints are in hell, they don’t have a franchise quarterback, and the rebuild will be painful. Payton, 58, is on contract, so the only way to change his situation is through a trade or voluntary exit. There’s always a lot of noise this time of year, but Payton (record 152-89-0, one Super Bowl in 15 seasons) is so revered as a head coach and offensive mind that he’s worth listening to every time his name comes up. Payton did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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Gettleman’s refusal to accept the trade back in 2018 — and his decision to draft Saquon Barkley over Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Quenton Nelson — was an all-time NFL Draft blunder that helped kill two Giants head coaches: Pat. Shumur and Judge.
Allen just threw for 308 yards and 5 TDs and ran for another 66 yards to rout the New England Patriots 47-17. The bills didn’t punt. Now the Giants need a new general manager, and their first interview was with the Bills’ Joe Shawn, who helped Allen draft Allen in 2018.
It’s facts like this that cause the Giants to so publicly fire their head coach from the front door while allowing the grandmaster to sneak out the back door advocating that this is some sort of voluntary retirement.
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The Bears are interviewing former Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie, 58, for their vacancy, which reminds me how ridiculous it is that I haven’t heard former Giants general manager Jerry Reese stumble across anyone’s call list. Reese, 58, has won two Super Bowls and is a respected rater, professional and person. He interviewed the Jaguars a year ago and deserves attention.
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Former Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher was part of the 49ers’ coaching staff that propelled the Cowboys to 17 points. Betcher is a Senior Defense Assistant/Running Specialist. It’s amazing what coaches can achieve with good players… Jason Pierre-Paul Gettleman traded a fourth-round pick in 2018 for a third and fourth Bucks. Gettleman chose DL BJ Hill and QB Kyle Lauletta. JPP won his second career Super Bowl last year and is leading the Bucs team trying to do it again. Lauletta was a loser and Hill didn’t produce in New York before being traded to Cincinnati this fall, but he did have a sack on the Bengals’ last drive to hold out against the Raiders in Qingxi’s first playoff win. in 31 years… I’m totally expected to trade a big quarterback in the off-season for the Philadelphia Eagles, who have three first-round picks in the April draft. Owner Jeffrey Lurie has good offensive and defensive lines, but Jalen Hurts can’t get this team where they need to be in this window. It’s also inconceivable that WR Jalen Raygor is still allowed on the field. His hollow punt on Sunday turned the Bucks’ one-sided win into a laugh. Eagles GM Howie Roseman infamously selected Reagora over Justin Jefferson in 2020…Referee Jerome Boger and his team were pulled from the rotation after Saturday’s unintentional touchdown whistle for the Bengals – and the wrong decision to keep the score anyway – is typical of a reactionary NFL. It’s too late. The opening weekend of the playoffs was filled with officials interfering with games, including phantom-hitting passer-by calls to the Bengals and Eagles, and the referee checking Prescott’s hips. The rulebook is overly complex and enforcement of the rules is selective. It’s just a mess.
