Richard Sherman warns Jerry Jones over sabotaging Cowboys' playoffs hopes - "Unnecessary seed of doubt"
The Dallas Cowboys are once again in the playoffs, the third straight season under Mike McCarthy's leadership. While there's no doubt that this team is ready to make a run, there's still a need for the head coach to show that he can take Dallas to the promised land.
But unnecessary pressure was put on head coach Mike McCarthy by owner Jerry Jones. The Cowboys' decision-maker is known for having too much patience with his coaches, but he was non-committal when asked about McCarthy's job security, stating they'd evaluate on a game-per-game basis. To former cornerback Richard Sherman, that's not a good look for the team:
"I guess Jerry Jones could have said this after the season or before the season, but when you say it right before the playoff, it's gonna put an unnecessary bug in Mike McCarthy's ear and an unnecessary seed of doubt. It may affect decisions that he makes throughout these games, because he's felt like feel like he's coaching for his life.
"That seems like poor leadership to me, because at the end of the day, things have improved. But for him to say that when things seem to be on the up and up, just seems like an unnecessary distraction and an unnecessary bit of drama."
What's Mike McCarthy's record with the Dallas Cowboys?
The head coach has boasted a respectable 42-25 record in the regular season, stemming from three straight 12-5 seasons, which netted two division titles and a playoff win in 2022 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Most of McCarthy's critics will point to his failure in the playoffs, which is a fair point. He has lost two straight times to the San Francisco 49ers, one in the wild card and the other in the divisional round, and both times there were questionable decisions.
The two teams are on the verge of meeting again, this time in the NFC Championship Game. If Mike McCarthy and the Cowboys fail to beat Kyle Shanahan's team for the third straight season, then Jerry Jones will be up for some harsh debates over the organization, and changes could be coming.