McCarthy was brought in to take the Cowboys on deep playoff runs and he finished with just one playoff win in five seasons at the helm. At face value, that is more than enough reason to move on from a head coach. The problem Cowboys fans had with parting ways with McCarthy, though, was a lack of faith in Jerry and Stephen Jones to hire the right replacement.
Sure enough, the hiring process was a total sham. It just so happens the newly-appointed Brian Schottenheimer looks the part and the coaching staff he assembled has Cowboys Nation feeling oddly bullish ahead of his first season.
McCarthy, meanwhile, did not land a head coaching job this cycle. He interviewed for the Bears job before withdrawing himself from consideration for the Saints’ vacancy. All signs point to McCarthy reentering the coaching mix in 2026.
In the meantime, McCarthy may do his former team one last favor.
Mike McCarthy may help Cowboys select a quarterback in 2025 NFL Draft
According to ESPN draft expert Matt Miller, McCarthy has done extensive board work with Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers. A three-year starter for the Longhorns, Ewers is one of a select few quarterbacks that will throw at this week’s combine in Indianapolis.
Miller notes that Ewers is fully recovered from a torn oblique that he played through during the season. Ewers helped lead Texas to the College Football Playoff Semifinals, where they lost to the eventual champion Ohio State Buckeyes.
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Tom Pelissero of NFL Network added that McCarthy has been “really impressed with Ewers as a young man and the attentiveness that he has.”
McCarthy is widely recognized for his ability to develop quarterbacks. The former Super Bowl champ has had great success with Brett Farve and Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay before guiding Dak Prescott to the best statistical season of his career in 2023.
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How does this pertain to the Cowboys, you ask? Stephen Jones revealed at the Combine that the team is likely to move on from Trey Lance in free agency and that an organizational goal is to “get a young quarterback in the draft.”
With Prescott locked up long-term, the front office doesn’t need to invest anything more than a day three pick in a quarterback. That may be where Ewers falls as he isn’t currently regarded in the first or second tier of QBs in this class despite a successful career in Austin.
McCarthy mentoring obviously Ewers does not mean the Cowboys will draft him. There’s no way to know what grade how Will McClay and the scout team view the former Longhorn as a prospect.
However, McCarthy did help prepare Schottenheimer for his first interview with the team. As long as the Joneses didn’t burn any bridges with McCarthy, maybe the 61-year-old will do his former team a solid by relaying some invaluable insight on the young QB.
