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Ever since the Cowboys’ postseason implosion to Green Bay last January the head coach position in Dallas has been a topic for debate. Mike McCarthy, entering the last year on his deal, had been a disappointing presence since taking the helm in 2020.
Hired to push a highly talented roster over the top, the Cowboys managed just one playoff win under McCarthy. While the Cowboys did manage three consecutive 12-win seasons under McCarthy’s leadership, each campaign ended in embarrassing playoff upsets where Dallas barely looked competitive. All this made McCarthy’s return in 2024 surprising and his departure in 2025 almost imminent.
Yet amidst the current 5-8 season where the Cowboys have all but been eliminated from playoff contention, there’s been talk of McCarthy possibly returning. Players have voiced their support, media analysts have discussed the validity, and even Cowboys legend Troy Aikman has said he expects “Mike McCarthy to be back in 2025.”
“Short of Bill Belichick, I don’t know who you’re going to bring in that has a better resume, “Aikman said via The Athletic. “I just feel that for a team that I really do not think is that far away…I sense that it’s a team that really believes in Mike McCarthy. I feel the locker room wants him back. I think he’s a really good football coach. I believe Jerry Jones thinks he’s a really good coach too.”
If Aikman wanted to light a spark in the Dallas fanbase, then mission accomplished, because that statement hit the fanbase like a tanker truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant.
Aikman’s take on McCarthy’s likeability is, by all indications, indisputable. McCarthy is a players’ coach rather than a disciplinarian. He’s familiar and he’s friendly. It explains the on-field mistakes and it explains the love from the players. He also stays in his own lane, which the front office certainly appreciates.
Aikman’s take on his resume is also indisputable. McCarthy ranks 14th in all-time wins (although John Harbaugh and Sean Payton may pass him this season) and he has a Super Bowl to his name. Looking at the list of expected coaching candidates this winter, no one but Belichick can touch McCarthy’s resume. Most of the upcoming head coach pool consists of up-and-comers and schematic innovators, not old guys with illustrious resumes.
The problem is Aikman’s looking at the young up-and-coming candidates as a negative and the various veteran retreads as a positive. It’s an odd take in a day and age where innovation is treated like gold and strategy is often all that separates the winners from the losers.
Work experience and past success has value but only when that success also projects to the future. A major criticism of the Cowboys under McCarthy has been the simplicity of their offense. As one of the more transparent attacks, McCarthy’s offense has been resistant to the many tricks of the trade that newer coordinators have embraced.
To conclude McCarthy is good today just because he was good in the past (which is what the resume reference implies) is a dangerous step to take. An up-and-comer replacement may carry more risk, he may be not as well liked by players, and he may step on the toes of the front office more often, but that might be what the Cowboys need to take that next step.
McCarthy coming back might be a possibility, but not under the logic that he’s the best man for the job. Best resume?
Yes.
But best forecast for the future?
No way.