Cowboys could target fired coach if Mike McCarthy can't win big in playoffs
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy will be under the microscope this January and that will start today as he's hours away from coaching a Wild Card playoff game versus the Green Bay Packers, his former team. Unfortunately, that's not the only reason why he's being wildly discussed these days. This will be McCarthy's third […]
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy will be under the microscope this January and that will start today as he's hours away from coaching a Wild Card playoff game versus the Green Bay Packers, his former team.
Unfortunately, that's not the only reason why he's being wildly discussed these days. This will be McCarthy's third playoff trip with the Cowboys and he's yet to move past the Divisional Round. Naturally, that leaves room for a discussion about his future with a franchise carrying a three-decade burden of not making the NFC Championship Game.
Jerry Jones claiming the Cowboys would "see how each game goes" when asked about McCarthy's future does nothing but light the fire, too.
"Multiple sources close to Vrabel have said not to rule out the idea of the coach taking some time off as opposed to jumping right into his next job," A to Z Sports' Buck Reising reported on Sunday.
Reising argues the Cowboys could be a spot that makes sense for McCarthy and his thinking is fair:
Vrabel is a name to watch if things go South in Dallas. The only person with a better resumé than the fired Titans coach is Belichick. Vrabel also has a good relationship with Cowboys executive vice president, CEO, and director of player personnel Stephen Jones as two of eight sitting members of the NFL's competition committee.
McCarthy could dissipate this conversation with a win against the Packers and even more so with another in the Divisional Round, something the Cowboys haven't witnessed since 1996. But for now, let's explore the scenario of potentially hiring Vrabel.
Would hiring Mike Vrabel over Mike McCarthy make sense?
I'd vote against such a decision, myself. McCarthy has led three consecutive 12-win seasons and in his first year as play-caller for the Cowboys, he's unleashed Dak Prescott's football to an MVP-caliber level. Prescott even received First-Team All-Pro votes this week.
McCarthy has already established a good culture, which is honestly what would make to target Vrabel in the first place. If the logic is that Vrabel is the difference between making the championship weekend, I'd point toward early playoff exits in 2020 and 2021 and remind you that it was in 2019 that Vrabel made the AFC Championship Game. And even that was a wild postseason where the Titans played as the sixth seed.
The Cowboys should play the long game with McCarthy, in my view. But if they're not content with the head coach by the time this playoffs are over, Vrabel might not be the right call.
With all that being said, everything is always on the table for the Jones family and if they do have a close relationship, you just can't rule him out.
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