INDIANAPOLIS (105.3 The Fan) - Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy spoke with reporters for almost 20 minutes in Indianapolis on Tuesday, giving the media its first chance to speak with McCarthy since shortly after the season ended.
McCarthy touched on Dak Prescott’s health, his focus this offseason, Sean Payton rumors, and a lot more.
Here are some of the highlights.
DAK PRESCOTT HAD SURGERY ON HIS NON-THROWING SHOULDER
Early in McCarthy’s press conference he was speaking about Dak Prescott’s offseason work, and casually referenced that Prescott had surgery after the season:
“(Dak) was one of eight players that had post-season surgery. We had to clean up with his left shoulder, so it’s something that needed to be done. So he’s rehabbing that, but he’s starting his process to get back into it.”
McCarthy added that the surgery won’t limit Prescott in the offseason, and didn’t believe it limited Prescott during the year.
McCarthy added that DE Chauncey Golston, WR Brandon Smith, S Darian Thompson, S Donovan Wilson, WR Michael Gallup, and DE Randy Gregory also had surgery after the season.
MOVING ON FROM SAN FRANCISCO
When asked if he had moved on from the loss to San Francisco yet, McCarthy said he didn’t have a choice but to move on:
“You have to. I think like most of us, you watch the playoffs if you can, you watch the final game if you can. But really that Tuesday after the Super Bowl is really when our offseason program starts, as far as the meetings. We’ve concluded all the exit interviews, so I would say we’re clearly past last year, but obviously mindful of the things we need to continue to look at.”
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NITPICKING PLAYER USAGE
McCarthy was asked if the team used Tony Pollard enough in 2021, and he said player usage isn’t as big of a focus as penalties and overcoming adversity:
“My one and two focuses for this team going forward is obviously the penalties and adversity football. So those are the two areas that are of primary focus for us. So as far as did we use this guy enough, that guy enough, I think it’s convenient criticism. Frankly, I think if you look at our numbers, our numbers of productivity were top in the league in a lot of categories.”
McCarthy added that what he wants to see from the offense is bigger than just statistics:
“I’m not as interested in being the #1 ranked offense in the National Football League, we need to be the #1 complementary offense, and I think we’ve accomplished that.”
SEAN PAYTON RUMORS
Following his recent interview with Rich Eisen, McCarthy once again opened up about the rumors surrounding Sean Payton as the next head coach of the Cowboys:
“It’s a narrative I don’t want to be a part of. I don’t think anybody would want to be a part of it on either side of the fence. In fairness to Sean, he’s being asked the questions, but nothing good comes out of that.”
McCarthy added that Jerry “addressed” the rumors, they “laughed about it,” and moved on.
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