My hope is that the front office and fans will not become impatient with McCarthy. We haven’t seen a team that was this consistently good in nearly 30 years. With the departure of Kellen Moore, it seems that Dak has taken the next step up as a QB. It took a few weeks into the season, but since the bye week, the Cowboys offense has been on fire, and Dak has played like the best QB in the NFL – and that includes the 49ers phenom Brock Purdy, who may follow in the footsteps of undrafted Kurt Warner, and late round pick Tom Brady on his way to becoming one of the better QB’s in the NFL. But Purdy has not yet been able to bring his team from behind, while Dak has many, many 4th quarter and overtime comeback wins on his resume. Under the tutelage of McCarthy, who coaches HOF QB’s like Montana, Young, Favre and Rodgers, Dak seems to be playing at a higher level than at any other time in his career.
This is not meant as a knock on Kellen Moore, who I believe may still be on track to becoming an NFL head coach some day. But McCarthy has done it longer and better than Moore. McCarthy is showing why he should be kept as the long-term head coach of the Cowboys. This level of consistent winning doesn’t happen by accident. Jason Garrett enjoyed consistently good drafts by the Cowboys, but was unable to mold that talent into a team that won consistently. In fact, it appears that Garrett was more often than not bailed out by Tony Romo. You have to wonder if Romo would have had a more decorated career under a coach like McCarthy.
Let’s be honest. Right now, the 49ers look like a juggernaut headed for Super Bowl glory. So, the Cowboys may well fall short again this year. But every team is striving to be the best, not just the Cowboys. And for the first time in decades, the Cowboys have become consistently good. They may yet prove that the early season losses were an anomaly and show that they can compete with and win against the Eagles and maybe even the 49ers in the playoffs. But, if they don’t, that is still not a reason to cut ties with McCarthy. He’s taking this team to the next level. You can see the development right before your eyes, if you are paying attention.
I believe the Cowboys, Eagles and 49ers are the class of the NFC. The Lions are on the rise also. Meanwhile, the Chiefs appear to be taking a step back after 5 consecutive seasons of domination in the AFC, and the NFL as a whole. We don’t yet know which other teams will step up in the AFC, but Miami, Baltimore, and Jacksonville all seem to be on track to challenge the Chiefs this year, while teams like the Bengals and Bills seem to have fallen back into the pack. The Cowboys, given the right events, could become champions again this season. So, this is not an attempt to excuse them ahead of time for any future losses. But honesty compels one to admit that right now, until proven otherwise, the 49ers and Eagles seem to be a bit ahead of the ‘Boys. Nevertheless, becoming a consistently good team that has double digit wins year in and year out is a HUGE step forward for a team that has been mired in mediocrity for longer than Tom Landry was coach of the team. Let’s not allow that to get lost, no matter what happens the rest of the year.
I believe the Cowboys have finally laid the foundation to become a great team. Do they have the edifice of a great team, yet? I don’t know. The 2001 Patriots were not yet a great team, but won the Super Bowl anyway. The Cowboys can do that this year. The Patriots became a great team AFTER winning their first Super Bowl. And the Cowboys can become a great team by building on the success of this year, and the past two seasons. I certainly hope they do it like the Patriots – starting off their greatness with an unexpected Super Bowl win. But I hope that regardless of what happens, the Cowboys allow Mike McCarthy to continue to build on what he’s accomplished so far in Dallas.
