Mike McCarthy is officially returning as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys next season, and one former NFL general manager believes that was the best possible decision Jerry Jones could have made.
listen to the entire interview with Michael Lombardi below
Michael Lombardi joined Shan, RJ and Bobby on Friday's show and was asked for his opinion on McCarthy returning for the fifth and final year of his contract next season despite Dallas getting embarrassed by the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.
"Everybody thinks that because Jerry Jones at [81-years old] has a sense of desperation. … And I thought the other way, completely," Lombardi said on 105.3 The Fan. "Because, when you're older, you don't want as much change. And, so, I feel like Jerry sat down and said, 'Look, this coach has the best winning percentage of any Cowboys coach. He's been to the playoffs the last three years. He's got a record similar to (Ravens coach) John Harbaugh, who is 160-99 with one Super Bowl and 11-9 in the playoffs. McCarthy is 167-102, 11-11 (in the playoffs) with one Super Bowl win. He's better than Sean Payton. He's not as good as (Steelers coach Mike Tomlin) in terms of wins, he's six wins behind Tomlin. But Tomlin's playoff record is two games below .500.' So, he's sitting here with a coach who can stack up, and he's saying, 'Why am I going to listen to all those people (that want McCarthy gone)?'"
Lombardi, who has come on 105.3 The Fan multiple times to praise the Cowboys' decision to move on from former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore last offseason, then pointed to Dak Prescott's success with McCarthy calling the plays as another reason why Jones made the right call to stand by his coach.
"(His) quarterback had one of his best seasons after all of you screamed. Now, stand up and take accountability for this. Because when Kellen Moore left, the whole Metroplex was in tears. All of you were, including you (Shan, RJ and Bobby). ... You were all in tears. You were losing the guru of gurus (in Moore), you were losing joystick, and you were going to completely melt down, that (Mike McCarthy) is the worst playcaller in the history of football. And yet, he came out and (led you to) the best offense you've had in three years."
Lombardi did admit that McCarthy and the coaching staff "did a horrible job preparing the team for the Packers game," but he believes the team wasn't all that talented to begin with, and that it's up to Jones and the front office to improve the roster this offseason.
You can hear his thoughts on the roster as a whole, Dak Prescott's struggles, and much more in the podcast above.