Will Jerry Jones Fire Mike McCarthy?
By Thomas Davila
Super Bowl LVI is behind us, and it was a historic event for many reasons. Players from both teams played their hearts out. But there could only be one winner, and the team that came out on top was the Los Angeles Rams. This marks the team’s first Super Bowl win since the team was brought back to Los Angeles.
The current head coach of the Dallas Cowboys is Mike McCarthy. McCarthy was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers for 12 years and led the team to a Super Bowl victory in 2011, when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. The Super Bowl was played at what is now known as AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. That is the stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play.
Speaking of the Dallas Cowboys; they have not won a Lombardi trophy since winning Super Bowl XXX in 1995, when Barry Switzer was their head coach. What about before that? Dallas won back-to-back Lombardi trophies in Super Bowl XXVII and XXVIII with Jimmy Johnson as their head coach. Jimmy Johnson resigned as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys after having some kind of disagreement with the owner of the team, Jerry Jones, and they have not played in or won a Super Bowl in almost thirty years.
After Jimmy Johnson's resignation, key players like Deion Sanders, who played with the cowboys for only 5 seasons, were released. Michael Irvin was released from the team after getting into legal trouble. He decided to retire from the NFL in 1999 while veteran quarterback Troy Aikman decided to retire the following year after sustaining a serious concussion during a game.
Barry Switzer resigned as Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys at the conclusion of Super Bowl XXX, which led to a few people holding that position. The team decided to hire Jason Garrett in 2010, who was the team’s Offensive Coordinator at the time. Garrett remained head coach of the Cowboys until he was let go by Jerry Jones at the end of the 2019 season.
After Garrett's demise in Dallas, the team was in dire need of a head coach. Only two people were interviewed for the position, Marvin Lewis, who was the coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and former Head Coach of the Green Bay Packers, Mike McCarthy. The team ultimately chose McCarthy as their new head coach.
McCarthy's hiring has been met with some criticism from fans who say that even though he managed to win a Super Bowl with Green Bay; there is a reason he was fired as their head coach. The reasoning can only be speculated.
McCarthy concluded his first season with the team with a 6-10 record which put Dallas in 3rd place in the NFC East. McCarty managed to get Dallas back on track in the 2021 season, which saw Dallas win the NFC East with a 12-5 record.
McCarthy's tenure is just getting started in Dallas. However, could the team be searching for a new head coach once McCarthy's contract expires? There is always the possibility that it is not renewed. Sean Payton, who was the Head Coach of the New Orleans Saints, announced his retirement from coaching after the Saints failed to make it into the playoff this past season.
Sean Payton could come out of retirement to coach Dallas if McCarthy's contract is not renewed and the right deal is struck. Payton led the New Orleans Saints to victory at Super Bowl XLIV in 2010 and many fans believe he could do the same for the Cowboys.