Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy held his final press conference of the 2022 season this afternoon.
McCarthy on his Coaching Staff
With today's announcement confirming six assistants that would not have contracts renewed, there was an expectation that McCarthy would share more about the reason behind those changes and what else might be coming down the pipeline for the Dallas Cowboys.
Early in the press conference, however, McCarthy made it clear that he wasn't interested in discussing hypotheticals. In response to a question about play calling in the event that offensive coordinator Kellen Moore leaves the organization, McCarthy responded, “I really don't want to play this game, today.”
The “game” he was referring to was the media's way of reframing questions or asking adjacent questions in order to syphon off information that may be used to draw publishable conclusions. That question wasn't the first time Kellen Moore's future with the organization had been brought into question.
Prior to that particular question, Mike McCarthy had already addressed where he was in handling the futures of Dan Quinn, Kellen Moore, and other coaches. McCarthy says he is only in the second day of coaching evaluations. He spoke to Dan Quinn earlier today and will talk with Kellen Moore tomorrow.
McCarthy did not share how long he expects the process to take, but he admitted that his process may take a bit longer than some might like. He also suggested that not every vacant position will necessarily be filled.
“A lot of different variables went into this decision, obviously the number of coaches,” he said, “This is something that was really being discussed as early as last year and has more to do with definition and design of your staff, philosophical beliefs, economic structure, all those things that go into it… This was more about change that we felt needed to happen. It's not as performance based as we like to tie everything, but there is a component of that, too.”
What we do know is that there is a possibility for more coaching changes and announcements. “Every coach including myself is being evaluated,” McCarthy explained.
McCarthy on His Players
Mike McCarthy also responded to a couple of questions about Dak Prescott but without giving much insight into his honest personal evaluation of the QB. When he was asked about what his staff might do to reduce interceptions, McCarthy's answers focused on the Cowboys' high scoring offense and the goal or maintaining a completion rate of at least 70%.
When McCarhty was asked how Dak would get over the proverbial playoff hump, Mike McCarthy went into an explanation of how he expects the 2nd year players on his roster to show vast improvement going into their third seasons.
It was clear that McCarthy was not interested in dissecting Dak's game during a press conference.
Early in the press conference, McCarthy commented on how much the culture of the locker room seemed to matter to players.
“In 17 years, I've never seen a group talk about the locker room the way this team talks about the connection they have,” he said. This is a source of pride for McCarthy. He explained that it took a lot of work to establish the culture, and that culture provides a great foundation for success moving forward.
Emphasizing the Positives
Overall, the philosophy moving forward can be summed up in the same way McCarthy's demeanor today can be described – emphasis on the positive. At one point, McCarthy even explained this himself.
“How are we going to move forward? There's gonna be change. There's gonna be adjustments. We've got a whole lot of positives to emphasize,” he said.
One positive many fans are celebrating is the announced return of Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. Just after McCarthy's press conference ended, it was announced that he'd be back for the 2023 season.
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