Mac Engel: If Mike McCarthy (somehow) remains, the play caller for the Cowboys must change

With Bill Belichick off to college, Mike McCarthy’s chances to remain as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys improved but there is zero chance he will stay as the play caller next season.

The lame duck head coach is still in play to sign an extension, but it will come with conditions, and promises of major changes. There is no way Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will say, “Fellas, we beat the Browns, Giants and Panthers; let’s run it back!”

On second thought, this is Jerry. “Run it back” is just stupid enough to think it could happen.

On Sunday afternoon in Charlotte, despite being a 3-point underdog, the Cowboys scored “an upset” over the Carolina Panthers, 30-14.

This is what we learned: The Panthers are awful. The Cowboys are better than awful. Make that a T-shirt.

This is also what we learned: Paying for an NFL season ticket package should come with an insurance option. Good people paid face value to watch what amounted to a preseason game, without the intrigue.

The only remaining intrigue to the Cowboys’ 2024 season is who comes back for the 2025 season, starting with the head coach.

The Cowboys improved to 5-2 on the road this season, and have won three of their last four games. They should be on a four-game winning streak.

Do not drink a Jerryrita; this team is, at best, average. Even when quarterback Dak Prescott was healthy, the depth chart had too many problems to be much better than mid’.

Also, do not drink a JerryHaterAde; the team has improved. Unearthing Rico Dowdle as a solid running back is a quality find, and a stinging indictment on the decision to bring back Ezekiel Elliott.

There is some developing talent here, especially on the offensive line and defensive front seven.

The team plays with effort. They play for McCarthy. They also played hard for McCarthy’s predecessor, Jason Garrett.

The Cowboys’ Wonder Twins - Jerry and Stephen Jones - have much to consider over the final three weeks of this regular season, starting with this staff, and what their responsibilities will be next season. If they come back.

Using Cowboys’ history as indicator, if McCarthy is to return he will be asked (told) to find an offensive coordinator who will call the plays. Jerry once did this to Jason Garrett, and he’s apt to do it again.

Despite the Cowboys win on Sunday, there remain continued examples of play calling that are no longer bewildering, or frustrating, but down right dumb. It may make you wish Kellen Moore was still calling the plays.

On Sunday, the Cowboys had a third-and-1 from the Carolina 14-yard line with 45 seconds remaining in the first half. The Cowboys called a run-pass option play for quarterback Cooper Rush.

Naturally, Rush lost a fumble. On the next play, Carolina’s Bryce Young completed an 83-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Coker to make the score 10-7.

Rush is a pro who has played decently well in his extended stretch as the starting quarterback, and he is not a runner. If you are going to run that play, it should be for current No. 2 QB Trey Lance, and only Lance.

The Cowboys have eight turnovers this season in the red zone. Rush has accounted for half of that total.

In the Cowboys’ 27-20 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night, the offense averaged 6.2 yards per rush against the worst run defense in the NFL. With a bit more than six minutes remaining in the game, and the score tied at 20, Dowdle began a drive with a 14-yard run.

The Cowboys then attempted three straight passes. Rush completed none of them. That led to the bizarre game-altering punt sequence that resulted in the Bengals’ winning.

In his post-game press conference, McCarthy openly bemoaned the lack of run plays. He wanted “more volume.”

Coach, you’re the one calling the plays. It’s not as if Rush is going to opt out of many play calls from the line of scrimmage.

When McCarthy came to the Cowboys in 2020, he accepted the job under the condition that Moore would remain as the offensive coordinator and primary play caller. Jerry did the same thing to Wade Phillips, whom he hired as head coach in 2007.

Wade was told that Garrett would be his offensive coordinator.

McCarthy and Moore struggled through the standard push-pull that so many head coaches who have play-calling experience do with an inherited offensive coordinator. McCarthy had been the play caller for most of his long tenure as head coach with the Green Bay Packers.

Moore left after the 2022 season, mostly because McCarthy tossed him under the Cowboys bus. Moore is now the offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles.

To replace Moore, McCarthy hired veteran NFL assistant coach Brian Schottenheimer, but the head coach is calling the plays.

If McCarthy stays, expect this: Schottenheimer will be moved out, and McCarthy will be told to hire an offensive coordinator who will be tasked to call the plays.

McCarthy may not be your first, or 101st, choice to be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, but Bill Belichick is no longer available.

If McCarthy comes back, he won’t be calling the plays.

____