"Mike McCarthy at times feels overwhelmed" - Colin Cowherd feels spotlight too big for Cowboys HC amid offseason moves
When the Dallas Cowboys hired Mike McCarthy on January 7, 2020, following the firing of Jason Garrett, the expectation was he would make the team Super Bowl contenders. They're about halfway there.
Colin Cowherd spoke about McCarthy on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, saying that the spotlight was too big for McCarthy.
Cowherd said:
“...When you get these big jobs, Yankees [are] a great example... That's a big job. You got nine, you got four newspapers and three guys apiece. Sports talk radio. It eats you alive. There have been managers who got that job and it just overwhelmed them. I would say the Dallas Cowboys' Mike McCarthy at times feels overwhelmed... It's too big [for him]. Who succeeded. Tom Landry, Jimmie Johnson, Bill Parcells, Kentucky basketball.”
In McCarthy's defense, he has handled the spotlight before. In 2010, the Green Bay Packers made it to Super Bowl XLV, facing the AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Green Bay won 31-25 with McCarthy as head coach and went 4-0 in the postseason.
Since then, McCarthy has led the Packers to six more playoff appearances while leading Dallas to one.
McCarthy's career record, including the playoffs, is 153-101-2. His postseason record is 10-9 while winning a Super Bowl. He was also named the Maxwell Football Club Coach of The Year in 2011.
Mike McCarthy is 18-15 in two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys
On January 2, 2018, it was announced that McCarthy had signed a one-year contract extension with the Green Bay Packers. McCarthy wouldn't last the entire season as he was released by the Packers on December 2, 2018, after a 20–17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
After receiving interest from the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, and Arizona Cardinals, he decided to sit out the year. On January 9, 2019, McCarthy announced that he intended to sit out the 2019 season and return to coaching for 2020.
He became the Dallas Cowboys head coach the following season after the franchise parted ways with Jason Garrett.
In his first season with Dallas, McCarthy and the Cowboys finished in third place in the NFC East with an underwhelming 6-10 record. They doubled their win total this past season and finished 12-5 while winning the NFC East.
They got upset by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the playoffs. McCarthy is expected to take the Cowboys further this season and could be on the hot seat if he doesn't.