2024 has seen a revolving door of coaches coming and going, and with the Dallas Cowboys’ 7-9 record this season and their playoff hopes no longer alive, head coach Mike McCarthy is on the hot seat.
With the season in Dallas nearing its early precipice, many are revisiting past decisions made by the head coach, including his letting go of last year’s offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore.
Fans Highlight Irony in Kellen Moore’s Firing As Eagles Defeat Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys
After their playoff exit in January of 2023, McCarthy made a decision that was unpopular with the fan base — parting ways with Moore and replacing him with Brian Schottenheimer.
McCarthy’s reasoning being (relayed by reporter Jon Machota): “We got to secure the ball better. We need to be a top 5 team and that’s a skill. … And that comes from the lead guy in the room. … I’ve been where Kellen has been. Kellen wants to light the scoreboard up.
“But I want to run the da*n ball so I can rest my defense. I think when you’re a coordinator, you know, but you’re in charge of the offense. … I don’t desire to be the No. 1 offense in the league.
“I want to be the No. 1 team in the league with a number of wins and a championship. And if we gotta give up some production and take care of the ball better to get that, then that’s what we’ll do, because we have a really good defense.”
Mike McCarthy spoke highly of his time with Kellen Moore. He said the Cowboys former OC did a hell of a job and continued to improve over the last three years. But it’s clear they had their differences. This quote from today explains some of that pic.twitter.com/GXueydVzTA
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) March 1, 2023
His comments were made in the wake of arguments that shorter offensive drives might lead to points but could tire out the defense the longer a game plays out. However, this has come back to haunt him after how the 2024 campaign transpired.
Netizens pointed out the irony of the situation. One noted how Moore’s current team, the Philadelphia Eagles, saw running back Saquon Barkley become the ninth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season. What made the situation even more ironic was that he surpassed this number in Philadelphia’s 41-7 win against Dallas on Dec. 29, which helped them win the NFC East title.
“The irony of McCarthy saying he let Kellen go bc he wanted Dallas to ‘run the damn ball,’ only for Kellen to go on to call an offense with a 2,000-yard rusher should not be lost, or dismissed when it’s Coach decision time in 8 days.” The fan said.
“It’s funny how Mike McCarthy said he would run the football more than Kellen Moore did with Dallas as a play caller and 2 years later Kellen Moore has a 2k yard RB in Saquan Barkley. It gets tougher every year to be a Dallas Cowboy fan,” another fan wrote.
Others speculated that Moore might just be McCarthy’s successor.
“If the #Cowboys do move on from McCarthy it will be for Kellen Moore. Jerry wants someone who knows the franchise and how things work here plus if you hire him then it ‘hurts’ Philly as well, so he won’t want to pass that chance up. Ben Johnson would be too ‘out of the norm’ for Jerry so there is 0 chance he actually does it,” a fan noted.
Others uploaded memes during the game.
Mike McCarthy looking for his team’s defense pic.twitter.com/LjqJrTihWZ
— GatorCPA (@TomGatorCPA) December 29, 2024
Somebody get this to Kellen Moore for me pic.twitter.com/tJyzdNrIX5
— Coach Pru (@TheBkellSHOW_) December 29, 2024
Meanwhile, other fans praised Moore’s season.
“If eagles fans were hyped about Saquon imagine how f***ing pumped Kellen Moore was when we got him. And they turned it into a 2k yard season, incredible job,” a fan said.
Barkley had 31 carries for 167 yards on Sunday, bringing his season total to 2,005, with his final run of 23 yards pushing him over the 2,000 mark. He just needs 101 more yards in next week’s regular-season finale against the New York Giants to break Eric Dickerson’s NFL rushing record of 2,105 yards.