As long as he isn’t the puppet Garrett was, McCarthy will be an upgrade. Of course, we don’t know if he is going to be a puppet or not just yet.
Cowboys fans may be so happy to be done with Jason Garrett they may have missed evidence that Mike McCarthy is a puppet, much like Garrett. | Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images/AFP
It took Jerry Jones a week, but he finally did what fans had been begging him to do for the last few years. He fired Jason Garrett. Then it seemed like before that joy and excitement could begin to wane, a new head coach was hired—former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy.
It was so quick and sudden that fans had to stop celebrating Garrett’s release to figure out if they were happy with Jones hiring McCarthy. It wasn’t a splashy hire or a sexy one; if anything, it was safe.
The decision seemed almost impulsive—something very unlike Jones (and also proof the Cowboys need a real GM).
McCarthy had a great resume, but no sizzle. Is he a good hire? Eh— who knows. As long as he isn’t the puppet Garrett was, McCarthy will be an upgrade. Of course, we don’t know if he is going to be a puppet or not just yet.
There may be a reason to wonder, though.
During a recent interview with a local Dallas radio station, McCarthy commented on the perception that Jones interferes with and undermines his head coach:
Ummm…okay.
Did he not see any of the interviews Jones did after games this season? Okay, so maybe Jones didn’t exactly target Garrett or call him out directly. But the implication was always there—and that is just this season with Garrett!
Let’s not forget the infamous rant where Jones claimed any number of coaches could lead the Cowboys to the Super Bowl—effectively minimizing and undermining then-head coach, Jimmy Johnson.
The reputation Jones has for undermining and interfering made past coaching searches more complicated than they should have been. No evidence? Come on—who’s McCarthy trying to kid?
Or is he just following orders and trying to make the new boss happy?
It will take time to tell if he is indeed a puppet or not. If we get technical, he didn’t really lie. Yes, it is public knowledge that Jones is one of the more meddlesome owners in the NFL. But an accepted truth is one thing while seeing evidence of that truth for yourself is another.
He hasn’t worked for Jones long enough to see evidence of anything. If he has or if he ever does, we already know he is willing to stretch the truth to get what he wants.
It isn’t beyond him to tell people what they want to hear, either—like how Dez Bryant did make the infamous catch:
So—is he or isn’t he a puppet? It is too soon to tell. Fans should keep an eye on him, though—but they were probably already planning on doing so.