Getty Bill Belichick
The pressure might have just gotten even stronger on Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy in 2024.
McCarthy is entering his lame-duck season, with an edict from Jerry Jones to advance beyond last season’s 48-32 blowout loss to the Packers in the NFC Wild Card, after winning the NFC East crown.
While McCarthy is set to coach the final year of his contract with no guarantees beyond it, an April 17 bombshell report from ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. reveals that former New England Patriots six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick would relish the opportunity to coach the Cowboys.
“He has told confidants he would be interested in coaching: the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants,” Wickersham and Van Natta wrote of Belichick.”
This offseason, before Jones announced that McCarthy would return to the Cowboys’ sideline this fall without a contract extension, there was speculation of various degrees of mutual interest between Belichick and Dallas.
“Belichick and Jerry Jones are decades-long friends,” Van Natta and Wickersham point out. “And both are in win-now mode. Nobody is better than Belichick at converting a talented roster into a championship team.
“Belichick told a friend that he liked the idea of sticking it to the Krafts by working for Jones. But Jones, for all his flash, bluster and vows this offseason to go ‘all-in,’ is change-averse when it comes to head coaches. He decided quickly after Dallas’ blowout exit in the wild-card round to let Mike McCarthy coach the final year of his contract.”
Jerry Jones on Relationship With Bill Belichick: ‘I Like Him’
Belichick and the New England Patriots mutually agreed to part ways three days after the Packers handed the Cowboys yet another disappointing postseason exit, but, Jones ultimately committed to bring McCarthy back for at least one more year.
However, Jones hasn’t closed the door on eventually bringing Belichick to Dallas.
“I know him personally and I like him,” Jones told Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein in January. “There’s no doubt in my mind we could work together. None. None.”
Belichick was passed over for the Atlanta Falcons vacancy and spoke to the Washington Commanders, who hired former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, but ultimately wound up on the outside looking in for the 2024 season.
Given that the Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles with Nick Sirianni, and New York Giants with Brian Daboll all face varying degrees of coaching uncertainty beyond 2024, Belichick could have a legitimate chance of getting his wish of landing in the NFC East in 2025.
Workhorse Running Back on the Way for Cowboys?
The Cowboys have myriad needs as the 2024 NFL draft approaches in late April, not the least of which is adding quality depth along the offensive line and potentially upgrading the linebacking corps.
However, given the lack of an every-down running back — even after signing Royce Freeman to a one-year deal, the Cowboys could look to make an immediate upgrade in the backfield early in this year’s draft.
That’s exactly how Pro Football Focus’ April 15 mock draft projection plays out, with the Cowboys selecting University of Texas running back Jonathon Brooks in the second round, with the No. 56 overall pick.
“Dallas gets the top back in the draft to fill its need,” PFF’s Sam Monson wrote. “Brooks is working back from a knee injury but could well be ready to roll at 100% by Week 1.”
Brooks is looking to return to form from a torn ACL suffered last November, but, has plenty of explosiveness as illustrated by his 6.1 yards per carry average on 187 rushing attempts for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.