Mac Engel: Cowboys' offseason moves have completely undercut coach Mike McCarthy

It’s 2024, and three straight 12-5 seasons with playoff appearances in each of those years says the Cowboys have made more right than wrong moves. This is not a bad football team.

McCarthy and his staff and players assembling three straight 12-5 seasons has become one of the more underappreciated feats in the NFL in that time. That achievement has been tossed in the garbage because of disappointing, frustrating and embarrassing playoff performances in each of those years.

“I don’t see it as more pressure. I think it’s just the reality of the industry,” McCarthy told reporters at the NFL owner’s meeting this week in Florida. “You can’t lose sight of the big picture. Make no bones about it, I’m extremely blessed to be here. I’m very much engaged where my feet are.”

That’s a 60-year-old man who has lived, and knows there are worse things in this world than living out the final year of a contract as an NFL head coach. Mike’s got it pretty good and he knows it.

He can influence certain decisions by the team, but it’s not his name on the check. They give him the players, and it’s his job to win with them.

The odds of the Cowboys finishing 12-5 for a fourth straight season and making the playoffs again are actually worse than the team returning to the postseason and advancing beyond the divisional round. Eventually it catches up with you.

The problems that teams such as the 49ers, Packers, Bills and Dolphins last season exposed for the Cowboys are still there. More so.

There were, and are, major issues at linebacker. Believing DeMarvion Overshown will fix them immediately is stupid. He was a rookie last season who never played in an NFL game because he suffered a season-ending torn ACL in training camp.

Signing veteran linebacker Eric Hendricks helps, and he’s not Mike Singletary.

There were major issues in the middle of the defensive line, and their best run stuffer, Johnathan Hankins, signed a free-agent deal with Seattle. End Tank Lawrence isn’t growing younger, and he needs help.

There are issues on the offensive line. Even if letting Tyron Smith go in free agency was a smart move because they don’t think he can last for even 14 games, the departure creates a major need at left tackle.

The Cowboys experience more than a decade ago with free agency left such a deep scar on Stephen Jones that he does not want to go there again. If you want to blame the deal for free agent cornerback Brandon Carr, go ahead.

Carr signed his $50 million deal in 2012, and he wasn’t bad. He just wasn’t worth that money.

The priority now for the Cowboys in their offseason is to maximize production from their current investments. The person who gets a pass on this is the quarterback, because he’s the quarterback.

The person who will feel most of this isn’t Jerry, but his head coach.

And he’s not stupid.