Jerry Jones explains decision to move on from Mike McCarthy as Cowboys coach

On Monday, the Dallas Cowboys held an introductory press conference for new head coach Brian Schottenheimer. At the press conference, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones explained the organization’s decision to part ways with former head coach Mike McCarthy.

“Mike McCarthy left some good stuff here. One of them was Brian,” Jones said. “Mike McCarthy is a hell of a coach. He left some good stuff here. It was time for a change. I’ve heard it criticized. We spent five days getting to come to that decision. We did come to that decision.

“One of the reasons we came to that decision is because there was this decision available to us as well — one of the reasons. Schotty has fantastic support among our players, key players, real support, and they’ve seen him when he was on top. They’ve seen him when it didn’t work out so well, that’s an advantage here. That’s a real advantage.”

McCarthy spent five seasons as the Cowboys’ head coach. However, after the Cowboys posted a 7-10 record and failed to reach the NFL Playoffs this season, the organization parted ways with McCarthy. In his five seasons with the Cowboys, he amassed a 49-35 record and a 1-3 mark in postseason play.

After speaking with several other candidates about the head coaching opening, the Cowboys ultimately hired internally, promoting offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach.

The Cowboys initially hired Schottenheimer as a consultant in 2022. However, he was promoted to offensive coordinator on Feb. 4, 2023. Now, Schottenheimer will take the final step on the staff ladder and have a chance to lead the Cowboys.

The Cowboys averaged 328.4 yards per game this past season under Schottenheimer’s guidance. Jerry Jones is excited to usher in a new era under Schottenheimer but also emphasized his appreciation for McCarthy’s time with the organization.

“You’ve all heard me talk about how I felt about Mike McCarthy as being a good coach,” Jones said. “But that time, those days, to reflect with him and go through many things that we should and wanted to talk about — that caused us to arrive at that.

“But what we have is an opportunity to take some of the very best things that are here in place — Mike’s doing — some of those very best things, change some of that, add to it and be better for that.”