NFL expert defends Mike McCarthy, what he's built with Cowboys

Three years into the Mike McCarthy tenure in Dallas and the Cowboys have no trophy to show for it. Still, the team has two 12-win seasons to boast about and a roster that looks ready to make another playoff run in 2023.

On the Rich Eisen Show, NFL insider Tom Pelissero shared why he believes McCarthy still deserves credit for his job in Dallas, Super Bowl title or not.

“He wants to build a sustainable type of thing here, and he’s done that,” Pelissero said of McCarthy. “I understand, especially a team that we talk about so much, that if they don’t win a Super Bowl, there will be some segment of the NFL fan base that is just going, ‘Giant failure, giant disappointment.’

“Look what they’ve done in terms of what they’ve built. Mike’s putting the pressure on himself. They made the decision… This is Mike’s offense, if they’re not good offensively, Mike’s going to take the blame.”

The Cowboys are still trying to end a conference championship and Super Bowl title drought after more than three decades. They had the NFC title game in their sights in 2022 but once again fell short versus the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs.

Jerry Jones still in McCarthy’s corner

The Dallas Cowboys’ numerous staff changes to start the offseason raised several red flags about Mike McCarthy’s tenure under team owner Jerry Jones. The former Packers coach cleared up numerous rumors when he shared that his relationship with Jones remains “excellent.”

McCarthy told reporters that Jones told him that he hopes he’ll coach the Cowboys as long as Tom Landry did, which was almost 30 years.

“As far as my relationship with Jerry … we are in an excellent spot,” McCarthy said. “The partnership that we have, he’s excited about. He told me a number of times this week that he wants me to coach here as long as coach (Tom) Landry did. I said, ‘OK, that’s a long time.’ I feel really good about our relationship. Think our ability to discuss and disagree, we do a good job at that. I think that’s important.”

Expectations are only increasing for the Cowboys head coach but as long as he has Jerry Jones in his corner, he is safe. Asked directly about whether he feels his job might be in jeopardy, McCarthy said he’s “never felt that.”

“I get to talk to Jerry a lot, so I’ve never felt that,” McCarthy said. “The narrative is externally generated and I think the industry should show more respect to the individuals.”