The Big Lead

Colin Cowherd: Jerry Jones Must Fire Mike McCarthy

By Brian Giuffra

Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy.
Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy. / Abbie Parr/Getty Images
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When the Cowboys hired Mike McCarthy as their new head coach this offseason, the presumption was they brought him in because of his Super Bowl pedigree with the Packers. Known as an offensive guru coach who built and retained a strong relationship with superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers for over a decade, McCarthy was expected to be the coach who took this talented team to the next level.

It's gone as bad as anyone could imagine since then.

Not only have the Cowboys gone 2-5 this season, but they've blown leads in four of their losses and, most recently, got embarrassed by the bottom-feeding Washington Football team, losing 25-3 this week. They lead the league in turnovers, are 32nd in scoring defense, and perhaps most damning of all, the players look like they've quit on the coaching staff.

That's led many pundits to call for McCarthy to be fired just midway through his first season, including Colin Cowherd.

Hard to argue with this line of thinking based on the Cowboys performance this year. They needed a miracle, onside-kick aided 20-point comeback against the 1-6 Falcons to get their first win of the season and trailed the 1-6 Giants until the finals seconds too. That's two ugly wins against two of the worst teams in the league. Against the better teams, it's just as ugly.

They took a one-point lead against the Seahawks with 3:58 left in the game, but allowed the winning score just over two minutes later. They also gave up 34 unanswered points against the Browns after taking a 14-7 lead. It's been a comedy of errors for the Cowboys and they can all be pointed directly toward the coaching staff.

Dak Prescott is expected to recover from his serious ankle injury in time for next season. The Cowboys bring back the majority of the key players they've built their team around next season too. The point is, player personnel isn't likely going to change too much in one offseason. Jerry Jones is the GM, so that's not changing either. What could? The coaching staff. At this point, it seems like a matter of when not if.