Getty Image / Mike McCarthy
Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy was synonymous with excellence in Green Bay for the over a decade he spent with the Packers from 2006-2018. Now, he will be taking on his former team in the NFC Wild Card Round next weekend.
After the Cowboys clinched the NFC East with a resounding 38-10 win over the rival Washington Commanders, Mike McCarthy took to the podium and commented on the fact that he will be facing his former team in one of the biggest games of his Cowboys tenure.
“The drama of it I’m sure you guys will love. I will not participate in it. … It’s playoff time. It doesn’t matter who we play, to be honest with you,” McCarthy said.
I’m not saying he’s lying, but for him to act like it doesn’t mean a little extra to him to coach in a huge game against the team that fired him after he had a great run there is a little disingenuous, in my opinion. I know NFL coaches can be pretty robotic, but any human being would not be able to ignore the reality of the situation.
Mike McCarthy spent parts of thirteen seasons in Green Bay, tallying a 125-77-2 record, good for just shy of a ten-win pace. He led the team to Super Bowl XLV, where they defeated the Pittsburgh. He went 10-8 in the playoffs in Green Bay with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers under center. But, a 7-9 season in 2017 and a 4-7-1 start in 2018 had him hitting the unemployment line.
Dallas hired him in 2020, and after a poor first year, they’ve gone 12-5 three straight years and have become one of the league’s best teams. But, they need to start making deep playoff runs, and the pressure is on Mike McCarthy not just to win against the Packers next weekend, but to get all the way to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl.