It really is unbelievable how quick things can change in the NFL. One minute, Dallas Cowboys fans are ready to escort Mike McCarthy on the first plane out of Dallas. Two wins later and the conversation has shifted to McCarthy potentially getting an extension after the season.
Naturally, the discourse was spawned by none other than Jerry Jones.
Appearing on 105.3 The Fan, Jones called McCarthy a Super Bowl-winning head coach and raved about his ability to cultivate a winning culture. Cowboys legend Troy Aikman and even seven-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady have all since lavished McCarthy with praise on national broadcasts, almost as if to hint Dallas would be making a mistake if they fired the 61-year-old.
Like after last season, though, most Cowboys fans think the organization should go in a different direction. There are numerous appealing replacement candidates, but Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson stands above the rest and figures to be the hottest commodity this hiring cycle.
If the Cowboys want to win the Johnson sweepstakes, though, Jerry Jones will need to make some pointed changes to how he goes about his business.
Before Thursday night’s game between the Lions and Packers, insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated revealed what Johnson is looking for in an organization if he were to leave for a head coaching job.
“Number one, he’ll be looking for organizational alignment, in particular between the GM and the head coach,” Breer said of Johnson. “And then, he’ll be looking for a recognition from the organization of the things that have gone wrong and a willingness to fix them.”
Johnson might as well be talking directly to Jerry and Stephen Jones.
There is not much alignment between Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy. While not proven, it’s speculated that Jones was behind Ezekiel Elliott’s continued usage despite poor production and lousy display of leadership. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that Dallas fully committed to Rico Dowdle as their lead running back even though Dowdle asserted himself in training camp (!!) as the best RB on the roster.
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With that said, McCarthy did concede this week that he’s had more influence in draft and personnel decisions with the Cowboys relative to his time Green Bay. That should attract any potential McCarthy replacement, so at least Dallas has that going for them.
As always, though, the other shoe drops.
Perhaps Jones’ biggest red flag as team owner and de facto general manager is his unwillingness to admit when he’s wrong.
That Elliott was even a talking point in 2024 is embarrassing by itself, but Jones has refused to admit that trading for Trey Lance was mistake and doubled and tripled down that Derrick Henry didn’t align with Dallas’ budget, which is simply not true. And who could forget Jones (jokingly, we think?) threatening to tear down AT&T Stadium when asked about installing curtains to prevent the sun glare from blinding his players.
The list goes on and on, but one thing is abundantly clear after Breer’s report: Johnson will laugh Dallas off the phone if Jones doesn’t change his ways.
As arguably the best play-caller in the league this side of Andy Reid, Johnson would be a game-changing hire for the Cowboys. Unfortunately, Jones is as stubborn as they come and probably wants the team’s next head coach – if he even fires McCarthy – to have previous coaching experience.
Translation: Johnson to Dallas is nothing more than a pipe dream.
