Mike McCarthy’s revenge game against the Green Bay Packers could hardly have gone worse. Embarrassed by Jordan Love, Aaron Jones, and the rest of Green Bay’s offense in a 48-32 Divisional Round loss that wasn’t as close as the final score, the Dallas Cowboys are again facing questions about their head coach.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has repeatedly backed McCarthy, who’s posted three consecutive 12-win campaigns but has just one playoff win to show for it. Another first-round postseason exit might change Jones’ mind, as could the availability of one of the greatest coaches in NFL history: Bill Belichick.
Cowboys Should Hire Bill Belichick as Head Coach, But Not GM
Jones has never been afraid to get aggressive with his head coaches. This is the same man who fired Jimmy Johnson after he guided the Cowboys to back-to-back Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993.
While Jones said last week that he “couldn’t be more pleased with what (McCarthy has) done” in 2023, the Cowboys owner also suggested McCarthy’s job status could be evaluated after each playoff game.
Now that Dallas’ postseason run is finished after one contest, Jones could act as soon as Monday. It’s not just that the Packers ran the Cowboys out of Jerry Word. It’s that Belichick — as well as other potential head coaching upgrades like Pete Carroll and Mike Vrabel — suddenly became available last week.
Belichick figures to hold the most appeal for Jones, who hired Bill Parcells — Belichick’s longtime confidant, mentor, and cohort — as Dallas’ head coach in 2003. And as Sports Illustrated Albert Breer noted, Belichick already has a “very solid relationship” with Jones thanks to the duo’s work at the owners’ meetings.
The six-time Super Bowl winner makes sense for the Cowboys, and the Cowboys make sense for the 71-year-old Belichick, who probably doesn’t want to take on a rebuild at this point in his career. He can bring in Josh McDaniels to coordinate a Dak Prescott-led offense, while Micah Parsons could be Belichick’s 2020s Lawerence Taylor.
But Dallas can’t let Belichick take over as the club’s general manager, de facto general manager, or personnel czar — choose your title, and Belichick should not have it.
Bill Belichick the head coach is still effective. Bill Belichick the GM may not be. He discussed ceding personnel control before ultimately parting ways with the New England Patriots last week and seemed amenable to giving up front office power.
“Yeah, look, I’m for whatever, collectively, we decide as an organization is the best thing to help our football team,” Belichick said. “And I have multiple roles in that, and I rely on a lot of people to help me in those responsibilities. If somebody’s got to have the final say, I have it, and I rely on a lot of other people to help. And, however that process is, I’m only part of it.”
Belichick doesn’t need to take on general manager responsibilities for Dallas — because the Cowboys already have a successful front office operation.
While Jones is nominally the Cowboys’ GM, vice president of player personnel Will McClay is the wizard behind Dallas’ string of player acquisition success.
McClay, running the Cowboys’ drafts for the past decade, has added All-Pro level talent like Zack Martin, CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, Parsons, and Tyler Smith in the first round while finding contributors on Days 2 and 3. His offseason trades for WR Brandin Cooks and CB Stephon Gilmore (total cost: two fifths and a sixth) worked out like gangbusters.
KEEP READING: 2024 NFL Head Coach Interview Tracker
McClay generates general manager interest around the NFL every offseason. The Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers, and Washington Commanders wanted to interview McClay for their vacant GM roles during this year’s hiring cycle, but he again declined meetings in favor of remaining in Dallas.
If he lands with the Cowboys, Belichick can let McClay handle the transactional side of Dallas’ business while Belichick maintains his focus on the field.
Prescott’s $59.4 million cap hit in 2024? Lamb’s upcoming contract extension? The 2024 NFL Draft? Don’t worry about it, Bill!
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!
