Mike McCarthy turned 61 on Sunday. The Cowboys’ 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t allow for Dallas’ head coach to have much of a birthday celebration.
It’s rough times right now around The Star. The Cowboys have lost four consecutive games for the first time since 2020, McCarthy’s first in Dallas. And judging by how lopsided the defeats have been, a massive turnaround seems highly unlikely.
“I enjoy the arena of conflict and being in these types of situations,” McCarthy said Monday, “because these are the years you remember. But it’s time to get it turned. We’ve been in this mode a couple of weeks too long here. But this is a great opportunity for us. No one believes that we can do it, which I think that makes it sweeter. But we need to win a game.”
McCarthy had more than the poor performance on the field to address Monday. He met with Cowboys All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons about comments he made after Sunday’s game.
Parsons offered a headline-grabbing response in the postgame locker room when asked about McCarthy being in the final year of his contract.
“That’s above my pay grade about if Mike is coaching again next year,” Parsons said. “All coaching aside, Mike can leave and go wherever he wants, but guys I kind of feel bad for (are) guys like Zack Martin and guys who might be on their last year or on their way out. Because that’s who I wanted to hold the trophy for. You want to win games and do great things with those type of legends who put in more time and work than Mike McCarthy ever did. Those are the kind of guys that I have so much sympathy and hurt for.”
The two men cleared the air. Parsons let his coach know that his words were taken the wrong way and “that wasn’t his intent.”
“I never once intended to throw Mike McCarthy under the bus,” Parsons said Monday on his Bleacher Report “The Edge” podcast. “He’s one of the most winningest coaches, he’s a Super Bowl champ. … I’ve always had a great relationship with Mike McCarthy, and I never even put that in question.
“Not once did I want this quote to be a negative moment. I only wanted it to be a positive light and shine light on guys like Zack Martin, who may or may not be a Cowboy next year.”
With how this season is unfolding, there will likely be a lot of changes in the offseason. A team that won 12 games each of the last three seasons might not even get to half that many this season. So what’s the message behind the scenes?
“Keep grinding,” Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer said. “After we lost our third quarterback (in Minnesota), we went to the NFC Championship Game (in 2017). So, there’s still a lot of football left. We obviously have to play better. Defensively, we have been playing better the last few weeks in spurts. We just got to sustain.”
The defense got a boost Sunday with the return of Parsons, who missed four games with a high ankle sprain. He had two sacks and a tackle for loss against the Eagles. The offense, on the other hand, is likely without franchise QB Dak Prescott for the rest of the season because of a significant hamstring injury that could require surgery. His replacements, Cooper Rush and Trey Lance didn’t look close to being the answer against the Eagles, combining for only 49 passing yards. That’s the lowest total in a Cowboys game since the season opener in 2001 when Quincy Carter finished with 34 passing yards and two interceptions. That Cowboys team finished the season 5-11. This group is headed toward a similar final record.
What is the message to the offense?
“Stay the course,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “Sometimes you feel like you look for a way to motivate them, I try to be honest with these guys. We can play more consistent than we’ve been doing. There’s been good, but there’s been too much bad. … There were some long faces in there today, just like we all are. But there is no solution in this league. This is a tough-ass league for tough people. Being in it for as long as I have, growing up watching it as a kid with my dad, if you blink in this business or if you don’t like tough days, you’re in the wrong business. There is so much parity. It’s so hard to win one game in this league.
“We got good players. We believe in all these guys. We believe in what we’re trying to get done. We truly believe if you continue to work, it’s going to flip. You got to get a win. And then you get a win and then there’s more confidence. And then one win becomes two wins.”
It’s easy to second-guess everything right now. The coaches are going to be positive. They have no other choice. But there is half a season remaining. And the Cowboys are likely to be underdogs in six of their last eight.
“We have a great opportunity to be in an adverse situation as a group of men to go do something people don’t think we can do,” McCarthy said. “Been there before. Excited about it. Most of the times come out on the other end, and that’s what I’m focused on.”
(Photo of Micah Parsons and Jalen Hurts: Matthew Pearce / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
