History shows why the Cowboys' Jerry Jones is unlikely to fire Mike McCarthy during the season

FRISCO — The Cowboys stumble into the bye week with plenty of time to think about what went wrong and how they can fix it.

That's not always a good thing.

Another confusing loss to a good team leaves this franchise reeling. After “Detroit 47” and “Dallas 9,” there's a tendency to throw your hands up in desperation rather than try to fix the wrong. Because there is so much to clarify, it is often easier to reduce the problem to a solution.

How about a change of coach?

Jerry Jones has done it before. He let Wade Phillips play for eight games in the 2010 season, ten months before winning the division title.

That's right. For once in his more than three decades in charge, Jones has made an in-season coaching change. The decision to release Phillips came after a 38-point road loss to Green Bay.

On Sunday there was a 38-point home loss against the Lions.

The similarities between the situation that Phillips and Mike McCarthy share end with the size of the deficit.

These Cowboys had fallen to 1-7 when Phillips was fired and had snapped a five-game losing streak.

These Cowboys are 3-3 and had won two straight road games before losing to the Lions.

These Cowboys had lost starting quarterback Tony Romo to a broken collarbone this season.

These Cowboys have a healthy Dak Prescott.

And the biggest difference: a sustainable succession plan.

These cowboys had an heir to the throne. Jones had hired Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator before hiring Phillips as head coach. He was poised to replace Phillips while Jones hoped to find his Tom Landry.

Who takes over if the Cowboys release McCarthy? Do you hand it to coordinator Mike Zimmer because the defense was so impressive? Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer or special teams coordinator John Fassel?

Will assistant head coach Al Harris take over knowing there's no way Jones can give him the job next season?

And another point: Phillips still had one year left on his contract when he was released. McCarthy and his staff are all in the final year of their contracts. They are the ones who really gave it their all this season, not Jones.

Jones set all of this in motion with an offseason that was more about cutting salary than bolstering the roster with anyone beyond a young, inexperienced draft pick. He is guilty. He knew there was a chance the regular season would go that way.

Go out on bail now? What options does he have?

“There’s nothing magical about a bye week,” Jones said.

He's right there.

A change would probably bring more to this team than a change of coach at the moment. The Cowboys did this in 2018 when their wide receiver didn't work out by committee and they sent a first-round pick to the Raiders for Amari Cooper.

These Cowboys face a similar dilemma with their running back by committee. No running game means no threat with the play-action pass, a key weapon in Prescott's arsenal over the years.

What if the club traded a draft pick for a running back, a position it has stubbornly ignored in the draft in recent years?

“We were 3-5 before we started,” Prescott said of the move for Cooper six years ago. “We don’t plan on being 3-5 with this team. That's up to the front office though, you know what I mean.

“I have a lot of confidence in the guys we have in the locker room, the young guys that are coming.

“My job is to make sure I continue to push the locker room and the guys in that locker room. “As I said, make sure they understand their role and how they can better fulfill their role.”

Look in the mirror. That was a theme that emerged from the loss to Detroit.

But what happens if the mirror breaks?

Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host Intentional Grounding every Wednesday during the Super Bowl from 7 to 8 p.m. on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM).

Twitter/X: @DavidMooreDMN

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