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Perception is reality, and McCarthy’s reality in Dallas is a switch from the Garrett era.
By Jean-Jacques Taylor
12:37 PM on Jan 14, 2020
FRISCO - Jerry Jones has given head coach Mike McCarthy complete control of the coaching staff.
Hallelujah.
Every head coach needs assistant coaches who are completely loyal to him - not the owner. That hasn’t always been the case around here, no matter what those with faulty memories or revisionist histories want you to believe.
Remember when Jones hired Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator before he hired Wade Phillips prior to the 2007 season? That never worked out.
Privately, players back then occasionally suggested Garrett was trying to sabotage Phillips at various times to get his job.
I never believed it, but perception - as we all know - is reality, and Jones set up an environment for that false reality to thrive by hiring Garrett before Phillips.
Who does that? It created a perception that Garrett was loyal to Jones - not Phillips.
And when Garrett was finally hired, Jones suggested a veteran staff to make sure his young coach had the proper foundation to succeed. But after three consecutive 8-8 seasons, Jones made Garrett give up the play-calling to offensive line coach Bill Callahan.
Bad move.
He should’ve let Garrett determine his own fate.
In 2014, Garrett hired Scott Linehan to call plays. Last year, the Cowboys promoted Kellen Moore to offensive coordinator and Jones wanted him to call plays, although Garrett reportedly wanted to do it.
The result? Garrett didn’t control his fate in the final year of his deal.
McCarthy won’t have these issues. He’s clearly in charge.
Dallas Cowboys new head coach Mike McCarthy and Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones look at each other as Jones speaks during a press conference introducing the newly hired coach in the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, on Wednesday, January 8, 2020.
McCarthy is expected to call plays, but if he doesn’t, it’ll be his choice as opposed to the owner’s decision.
Moore and Doug Nussmeier, who’s moving from tight ends coach to quarterbacks coach, will be the only holdovers from Garrett’s staff.
None of the new dudes have a history with Jones. Their loyalty is to the guy who hired him: McCarthy.
Now, you couldn’t really blame Jones if he wanted McCarthy to keep the offensive staff. After all, the Cowboys ranked first in the NFL in yards (431.5) and yards per play (6.5), second in third down conversions (47%) and sixth in points (27.1).
The Cowboys also had a 4,900-yard passer, two 1,100-yard receivers and a 1,300-yard rusher. Plus, all of their offensive coaches were under contract; their defensive coaches weren’t.
But there’s no salary cap for coaches, so if the Cowboys needed to eat salary to let McCarthy hire his guys, then so be it.
For the record, McCarthy said Jones never tried to sell him on the current staff.
“Well, really there was no negotiating,” he said. “They actually gave me an overview of the staff, and there’s been a lot of input there from a different number of people in the organization.
“They actually have done a great job helping me as far as from a recruiting standpoint in more of the contractual type of things that are ahead of us.”
Jones said McCarthy was always going to have the right to pick his staff.
“We wanted him to pick his own staff,” Jones said. “I’ve always thought that.”
Not really.
But it’s important to note the 2020 Cowboys will have an entirely new feel because it will have a new head coach for the first time in a decade, a new defensive coordinator for the first time in six seasons and a new offense for the first time since 2007, when Garrett arrived as offensive coordinator.
Giving McCarthy control of the staff and the ability to hire and fire gives him juice. It’s important for players to know the coach - not the GM - controls their future on the roster.
McCarthy also represents real change. He has no link to Jimmy Johnson and the glory days of the ’90s like Garrett.
This team needs a clean break.
You can respect your history, but too many players over the years have strutted around the locker room and the facility living on the accomplishments of players from another generation.
That should change under McCarthy - and his staff.
By Jean-Jacques Taylor
12:37 PM on Jan 14, 2020
FRISCO - Jerry Jones has given head coach Mike McCarthy complete control of the coaching staff.
Hallelujah.
Every head coach needs assistant coaches who are completely loyal to him - not the owner. That hasn’t always been the case around here, no matter what those with faulty memories or revisionist histories want you to believe.
Remember when Jones hired Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator before he hired Wade Phillips prior to the 2007 season? That never worked out.
Privately, players back then occasionally suggested Garrett was trying to sabotage Phillips at various times to get his job.
I never believed it, but perception - as we all know - is reality, and Jones set up an environment for that false reality to thrive by hiring Garrett before Phillips.
Who does that? It created a perception that Garrett was loyal to Jones - not Phillips.
And when Garrett was finally hired, Jones suggested a veteran staff to make sure his young coach had the proper foundation to succeed. But after three consecutive 8-8 seasons, Jones made Garrett give up the play-calling to offensive line coach Bill Callahan.
Bad move.
He should’ve let Garrett determine his own fate.
In 2014, Garrett hired Scott Linehan to call plays. Last year, the Cowboys promoted Kellen Moore to offensive coordinator and Jones wanted him to call plays, although Garrett reportedly wanted to do it.
The result? Garrett didn’t control his fate in the final year of his deal.
McCarthy won’t have these issues. He’s clearly in charge.
Dallas Cowboys new head coach Mike McCarthy and Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones look at each other as Jones speaks during a press conference introducing the newly hired coach in the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, on Wednesday, January 8, 2020.
McCarthy is expected to call plays, but if he doesn’t, it’ll be his choice as opposed to the owner’s decision.
Moore and Doug Nussmeier, who’s moving from tight ends coach to quarterbacks coach, will be the only holdovers from Garrett’s staff.
None of the new dudes have a history with Jones. Their loyalty is to the guy who hired him: McCarthy.
Now, you couldn’t really blame Jones if he wanted McCarthy to keep the offensive staff. After all, the Cowboys ranked first in the NFL in yards (431.5) and yards per play (6.5), second in third down conversions (47%) and sixth in points (27.1).
The Cowboys also had a 4,900-yard passer, two 1,100-yard receivers and a 1,300-yard rusher. Plus, all of their offensive coaches were under contract; their defensive coaches weren’t.
But there’s no salary cap for coaches, so if the Cowboys needed to eat salary to let McCarthy hire his guys, then so be it.
For the record, McCarthy said Jones never tried to sell him on the current staff.
“Well, really there was no negotiating,” he said. “They actually gave me an overview of the staff, and there’s been a lot of input there from a different number of people in the organization.
“They actually have done a great job helping me as far as from a recruiting standpoint in more of the contractual type of things that are ahead of us.”
Jones said McCarthy was always going to have the right to pick his staff.
“We wanted him to pick his own staff,” Jones said. “I’ve always thought that.”
Not really.
But it’s important to note the 2020 Cowboys will have an entirely new feel because it will have a new head coach for the first time in a decade, a new defensive coordinator for the first time in six seasons and a new offense for the first time since 2007, when Garrett arrived as offensive coordinator.
Giving McCarthy control of the staff and the ability to hire and fire gives him juice. It’s important for players to know the coach - not the GM - controls their future on the roster.
McCarthy also represents real change. He has no link to Jimmy Johnson and the glory days of the ’90s like Garrett.
This team needs a clean break.
You can respect your history, but too many players over the years have strutted around the locker room and the facility living on the accomplishments of players from another generation.
That should change under McCarthy - and his staff.
Quoting error.
