McCarthy on the Hot Seat: Week 16 Replacement Rankings: Who Could Replace Him?
This is going to be a very interesting offseason for the Dallas Cowboys in a few weeks. The assumption is that Dallas will need to move pretty quickly after the final whistle on Week 18. Back in 2019 and under similar circumstances, owner and GM Jerry Jones waited almost an entire week from the final day of the regular season (December 29) to moving on from Jason Garrett (January 5) whose contract expired. Garrett was replaced by Mike McCarthy, a veteran coach who had convinced the Joneses that he was hip to the new NFL after spending a year away from the game.
Will they look for similar things if and when they let McCarthy go this coming offseason? There are a slew of really good candidates this go round. Time may be of the essence this cycle, as there could be upwards of seven or eight openings come early January. The Jets, Saints and Bears have already fired their head coaches. The Cowboys, Giants, Jaguars, and Raiders could all be in that boat. There’s even an outside chance the Bengals and 49ers are looking for new leaders for their sidelines.
The searches are going to be diverse, depending on what each ownership group prefers, and that question is no more pertinent than in Dallas.
The Cowboys have been on an experience roller coaster for 30-plus years of coaching. Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer were established college leaders with no NFL coaching experience. Switzer was replaced by Chan Gailey, who had over 10 years experience as an NFL assistant and pro head coaching experience from the WLAF. Dave Campo was similar, a decade-long assistant who was bumped up to replace Gailey.
When those didn’t work, Jones turned to two-time Lombardi hoister Bill Parcells and his lengthy resume as a team fixer. Parcells was replaced four years later by another veteran of the head coaching pipeline, Wade Phillips. Garrett was hired before Phillips to be a coach in waiting with just two years experience as an assistant, which grew to six by the time he ascended. His departure saw Jones go back to the proven winner ranks with Super Bowl champ McCarthy.
So where do things go this cycle?
