The Dallas Cowboys were just one of two teams with a head coach opening after the Las Vegas Raiders agreed to terms with Pete Carroll on a three-year contract. That changed quickly after Dallas announced Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach on Firday night.
Cowboys fans hoped Jerry Jones would swoop in and hire Carroll after it was reported Jones and Carroll had a preliminary conversation about the vacancy. Whatever discussion they had, though, it is now irrelevant to the team’s search for a new coach.
Mike McCarthy was expected to be a hot commodity this cycle. The Chicago Bears felt like the perfect landing spot, but they quickly hired Ben Johnson after the Lions were bounced in the Divisional Round.
McCarthy has an interview lined up next week with the Saints but he has to fend off a number of candidates, including Kellen Moore, Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and Giants OC Mike Kafka.
Given that Raiders minority owner Tom Brady raved about McCarthy this season whenever he called Cowboys games for FOX, it was widely Las Vegas would have interest in McCarthy. When push came to shove, though, the Raiders didn’t even call McCarthy to interview.
Raiders minority owner Tom Brady did former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy dirty
Brady was so complimentary of McCarthy with FOX that it turned off Cowboys fans. The seven-time Super Bowl champion couldn’t help but talk about how great of a coaching job McCarthy did this year as far as navigating an injury crisis and keeping morale high amid a lost season. Brady went as far as to say that Dallas would be foolish to let McCarthy go.
In hindsight, Brady’s comments weren’t off-base.
Cowboys players fought tooth and tail for McCarthy until the bitter end. Multiple teams around the NFL mired in disappointing seasons experienced unrest in their respective locker rooms. Both the 49ers and Dolphins had players literally quit on their coaches and teammates smack in the middle of a game. The Jets and Giants’ effort in the final few games was pathetic.
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So why did Brady not even bring McCarthy in for an interview? Well, maybe Brady doesn’t think as highly of the Super Bowl-winning head coach as he led on.
Marcus Mosher of The 33rd Team astutely noted that Brady and McCarthy share the same agent – Don Yee, who is one of the NFL’s most prominent agents. In addition to Brady, Yee represents Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh and Broncos HC Sean Payton.
It is clear now that Brady was posturing by showering McCarthy with praise. While he may have intended to vitalize McCarthy’s stock before his contract expires, he could have validated that by getting him an interview with the Raiders. And he didn’t.
It speaks volumes that Las Vegas preferred a 73-year-old Pete Carroll. Now, McCarthy has inched ever closer to striking out this hiring cycle despite being a top candidate.
