Mike McCarthy’s hesitation to discuss the status of his offensive coordinator said everything, and the departure of Kellen Moore was officially inevitable.
Rather than announce Moore’s departure from the team with the other coaching staff changes last week, the Dallas Cowboys waited until the middle of the NFL’s conference title games to make the news official.
If you can’t reach the NFC title game, the next best alternative is to make a headline right in the middle of it.
When McCarthy arrived to the Cowboys in 2020, he inherited the Boise State boy-genius offensive coordinator/QB coach from previous head coach Jason Garrett.
McCarthy gave Moore every opportunity to flourish as his play caller and coordinator. In 2021, the Cowboys ranked first in the NFL in points in yards; in 2022, they ranked fourth in points and 11th in yards.
And he’s the problem.
Now the Cowboys and Kellen Moore have separated but both want what’s best for the children, i.e. the quarterback.
Dak Prescott is now McCarthy’s savior.
And, because Moore is so bad at his job, he’s gone to L.A. to work in the same role with the Chargers, and their stud passer, Justin Herbert.
This ending may ultimately not be straight from NFL Films, or Hallmark, but McCarthy is doing what he should as head coach and exercising control. He’s the head coach, and if he thinks this will benefit the team he must do it.
This isn’t about control. McCarthy isn’t a control freak.
This is about reaching the quarterback, and getting him to see it all. Moore has been with Dak, either as a teammate or a coach, since Dak came into the NFL in 2016.
Dak ‘n’ Keller were a pretty good little duo. The QB still has to be better, and even if it doesn’t work out at least McCarthy can say he tried to do it himself.
This is about Dak playing as well in the playoffs as he has in the regular season. That is the problem.
The Cowboys are 24-10 in the last two years with consecutive playoff appearances, and one postseason win; as sand-in-the-eyes aggravating as the finales in both 2021 and now 2022 are, there is no way Jerry Jones could ever have fired McCarthy, which he never wanted to in the first place.
The Sean Payton-to-the-Cowboys storyline was an empty media generated narrative that Jerry wouldn’t duck because no one in sports grasps the need for fresh content like Jerry.
And Jerry has only himself to blame for setting up a scenario that is plausible because from 1997 to 2004 he had four head coaches (Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, Bill Parcells).
Jerry told McCarthy he wants him to be around as long as Tom Landry served as the Cowboys’ head coach; don’t bother doing the math. In Jerry’s mind, it’s 2 + 2 = My Name’s On the Check.
Whomever McCarthy hires to serve as his new coordinator the function should be more as an adviser, or complement. McCarthy should be moving on from Moore only if he wants to call the plays, and play design.
Moore came from the Scott Linehan/Jason Garrett coaching tree, and his offense functioned fairly closely to the preferences of those two men.
McCarthy’s background is offense, and with quarterbacks; that’s the reputation he built in his 12-plus year tenure with the Green Bay Packers.
McCarthy was the head coach in Green Bay who orchestrated the transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers in 2008.
Whatever McCarthy’s detractors want to say about him, his teams have moved the ball, scored points, and played well on offense.
There was no indication that McCarthy’s relationship with Kellen Moore was strained. This situation reads like a head coach who knows he has to try something else in an effort to get the desired result, which is another playoff win or two.
So McCarthy is going to do it himself.
Dak can save him.
If it doesn’t work, at least McCarthy can say he tried.
