Cowboys' Mike McCarthy leads NFL odds for head coach to be fired first
According to the oddsmakers, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy sits in the hottest seat in the entire NFL entering the 2023 regular season. On the same day the Cowboys report to training camp in Oxnard, California, the sportsbook BetOnline.ag released its odds for the first NFL head coach to be fired this season. Surprisingly, […]
According to the oddsmakers, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy sits in the hottest seat in the entire NFL entering the 2023 regular season.
On the same day the Cowboys report to training camp in Oxnard, California, the sportsbook BetOnline.ag released its odds for the first NFL head coach to be fired this season.
Surprisingly, McCarthy is the favorite to be the first man out with a 5-to-1 payout. But are they right? Let's look at some of the other candidates and determine if BetOnline is reading the room correctly.
Per the sportsbook's release, these are the coaches who are the most likely to be fired first in 2023:
- DAL Mike McCarthy, 5/1
- TB Todd Bowles, 6/1
- WAS Ron Rivera, 7/1
- NO Dennis Allen, 8/1
- CLE Kevin Stefanski, 9/1
- LVR Josh McDaniels, 10/1
- CHI Matt Eberflus, 14/1
- GB Matt LaFleur, 14/1
- TEN Mike Vrabel, 14/1
Is Mike McCarthy's seat really that hot with the Cowboys?
I'd say it's pretty darn warm. After all, the Cowboys moved on from offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, somebody they liked and kept on board even after Jason Garrett's firing. Not only that but when they hired McCarthy, the Super Bowl-winning play-caller for the job, it was Moore who remained the offensive guru of the team.
In other words, trusting McCarthy to let Moore go was no small ordeal. On top of that, the Cowboys will be spending a lot over the next year or two as Trevon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott, and Micah Parsons will demand big contracts. Some of these are already being negotiated by the front office.
And yet, I wouldn't make the bet that McCarthy will be the first head coach fired in a million years! This is the guy who's led the team to back-to-back 12-win seasons. The Cowboys won a playoff game dominantly last year. Is that enough to secure a long-term position with the team?
Probably not.
After all, what the Cowboys want is more than regular-season success. But it's also hard enough to find head coaches who can give you that in the first place. It'd be very unlike the franchise to move on from McCarthy mid-season.
The biggest argument to the contrary I can come up with is that the coaching staff does have Dan Quinn waiting as defensive coordinator. In other words, the Cowboys have a quality interim head coach if push comes to shove.
Even still, I don't see it. McCarthy is in the hot seat, indeed. But if the seat does go up in flames, I'm betting it won't be until after the season ends.
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Featured image via Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
