Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy is 'very impressed' with kicker Brandon Aubrey

The Dallas Cowboys have one of the best rosters in the NFL and are considered one of the top Super Bowl contenders out of the NFC. They have an already highly productive offense and an elite defense. They're quarterbacked by a franchise quarterback in Dak Prescott and a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in […]

Mauricio Rodriguez — Dallas Cowboys News Writer

Sep 7, 2023 11:56 AM EDT

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy talks to the media about kicker Brandon Aubrey.

One thing they don't have, however, is certainty at kicker. Brett Maher is gone after a disastrous performance in the Wild Card Round versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he missed four extra points. And taking his place? Former USFL standout Brandon Aubrey, who had never played football until he was a professional athlete.

The Cowboys have seemed confident in Aubrey's future with the team, releasing his only competition mere days into training camp. Where does the trust come from? In Mike McCarthy's eyes, it's simple: The first time he saw Aubrey live.

"The first time I stood behind him and felt the ball come off his foot, I definitely knew he was going to be okay," the Cowboys head coach told reporters on Thursday.

That might sound like a wild response from the coach to many Cowboys fans, even after witnessing Aubrey nail a 59-yard field goal in the preseason against the Las Vegas Raiders. But McCarthy's been in the NFL since 1993 and he knows a thing or two about kicking on Sunday.

In fact, McCarthy compared the Cowboys' first-year player to Mason Crosby, the former Super Bowl champion kicker from the Green Bay Packers.

"The talent, he reminds me of a young Mason Crosby," McCarthy said. "I feel good about him because he has an arsenal of kicks which is important. That itself shows you the ability to control the football. I've been very impressed with him."

The 2023 Cowboys are expected to be much more analytics-driven than in recent years following the team's overhaul of the analytics department. That could potentially translate into going for it on fourth down more often but throughout the course of the regular season, Aubrey is going to have big chances to win (or lose) games for the team.

Although fans are understandably nervous about the new kicker in town, the coaching staff appears to be significantly confident in him.