Green Bay Packers: ESPN Analyst Predicts Dallas Cowboys Coach Mike McCarthy Will Be Fired Following Playoff Game
The Green Bay Packers outscored the Dallas Cowboys 27-7 in the first half of the NFC Wildcard game.
Green Bay came into the game as almost two-touchdown favorites, and the Cowboys haven’t lost at home all season, but Dak Prescott and the top-ranked Dallas offense have looked confused and off from the start. Jordan Love and the Packers offense, on the other hand, have been on fire in the first 30 minutes.
Prior to the game, there was concern that Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy’s job might be jeopardized if the Cowboys didn’t take care of business in the playoffs, particularly in the first round, when they are heavy favorites.
When asked about McCarthy’s future, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones declined to commit to him.
“When asked directly about Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys future, owner Jerry Jones said ‘we’ll see how each game goes’ in the playoffs,” Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote on X.
The response is unclear, as is typical of Jones. However, it is clear that Jones is deferring his decision until after the postseason campaign. Given that McCarthy, who is in his fourth season with the team, is only 1-2 in the playoffs, Dallas may believe they have given him enough time to advance in the postseason.
After the Green Bay Packers upset the Cowboys with a 27-7 halftime lead, speculation about McCarthy’s future in Dallas began.
Longtime ESPN analyst Mike Greenberg turned to social media to laud Packers QB Jordan Love, who has been excellent in the first half for multiple weeks, but also to point out the reality of the Packers’ good start if the Cowboys lose.
“It feels highly likely we will remember this game as Jordan Love’s coming out party,” Greenberg said in a statement. “And, in that order, Mike McCarthy’s final game in Dallas.”
Rob Gronkowski reiterated Greenberg’s sentiments during the FOX halftime show.
“If Mike McCarthy doesn’t pull some magic out in the second half, this could be his last game in Dalllas,” Gronk went on to say.
If the Dallas Cowboys lose to the Green Bay Packers, might Bill Belichick be hired to replace Mike McCarty?
The Cowboys have made the playoffs for the third year in a row under Mike McCarthy, but the franchise has been connected to a trade for Bill Belichick. After parting ways with the New England Patriots on January 11, the former head coach is now available.
NBC Sports’ Mike Florio speculated that Belichick’s future could be in Dallas. But it all depends on how well McCarthy does in his third postseason season.
“It simply makes too much sense.” If Mike McCarthy commits the same blunder that he did in the Week 17 game on Saturday night, tossing the ball on second-and-15 and giving the Lions ample time to drive down the field and score the touchdown… “If he does something like that in the playoffs and they lose, he’s done,” Florio stated on 105.3 The Fan. “It’s possible. Based on what Jerry [Jones] has said and the availability of Bill Belichick, Mike McCarthy’s career may be over because there is a clear opportunity to upgrade to a guy who can give Jerry what he’s been chasing since 1995.”
The Green Bay Packers would have to hold on for the upset for the Dallas Cowboys to entertain a move like this, but it wouldn’t be strange to see Jerry Jones make a move like this.
While Belichick has been prominently linked to the Atlanta Falcons job opportunity, it is fairly likely that if the Cowboys lose to the Packers, Jones would open the pocketbook for the iconic former New England Patriots coach.
