Were the Dallas Cowboys aware that there was a football game on Sunday? It appears not as they were dismantled by the Detroit Lions to the tune of a 47-9 final score. It’s the worst home loss in the 15-year history of AT&T Stadium and one of the worst overall losses in franchise history.
While the Cowboys are 3-3 going into the bye and are navigating a cavalcade of injuries, this season feels like its destined to end in disappointment.
Bigger picture notwithstanding, a loss of historic proportions generally would force a franchise’s higher-ups to consider seismic changes. If it were up to Cowboys fans, head coach Mike McCarthy would have a bullseye on his back, but the proverbial ball is in Jerry Jones’ court.
Whereas many head coaches would be skating on thin ice after a 38-point home loss, McCarthy is seemingly standing on sturdy ground. Longtime Cowboys insider Jane Slater of NFL Network does not believe that Jones will fire McCarthy during the bye week.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy unlikely to be fired after Week 6 disaster
While a statement should be made, it’s not like Jones to change coaches mid-season. It took until after the 2019 season for Jones to fire Jason Garrett even though the Cowboys were going nowhere that season. They finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. This season has a similar feel to it.
Having said that, Jones isn’t a total stranger to canning coaches mid-season. In 2010, he handed Wade Phillips his walking papers after Dallas was bludgeoned 45-7 by McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers.
That decision ironically marked the start of Garrett’s tenure as head coach. Then an assistant head coach, Garrett was promoted to interim head coach before he was given the permanent title after the season.
The problem with potentially letting go of McCarthy is that the Cowboys don’t have an obvious successor. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is on a one-year contract and nobody is pining for him to replace McCarthy after his just allowed 47 points, 7.5 yards per play and nearly 500 yards of offense. It is far more likely that McCarthy and Zimmer are gone after the season.
