The Dallas Cowboys had everybody shocked when they suddenly parted ways with head coach Mike McCarthy after a disappointing 7-10 season.
The news out of Arlington was surprising since Jerry Jones said everything that pointed to a new contract. On top of that, the team prevented him from interviewing for the Chicago Bears’s head coaching job last Tuesday, which many took as him getting set to make his return to Dallas.
With the news coming down, former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman was asked about the turn of events ahead of the Rams vs. Vikings Wild Card game on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown:
“Well I thought Mike McCarthy would be the head coach,” said the Dallas Cowboys great-turned-ESPN color commentator.
The longtime Cowboys quarterback and Hall of Famer then ripped the organization and owner Jerry Jones:
“So this is a bit of a surprise to me today that he’s not going to be… It suggests that there’s not a real plan in the fact that they haven’t had the opportunity to interview maybe a Ben Johnson or some of these others—Aaron Glenn. I think that what [Adam] Schefter said as far as Kellen Moore being a candidate, that seems logical to me. A guy who has familiarity with the building, he’s worked—obviously—with the Cowboys and with Jerry Jones and they know each other well.”
“Beyond that?” Aikman later continued. “It’s hard to imagine as far as a ‘coveted job’—I don’t know that that’s accurate. I do think the Cowboys are obviously a high-profile team. Whoever is head coach of that team is certainly going to draw a lot of attention, but I think most football people that take over as as head coach, they want to do it on their terms.”
Jerry Jones had been negotiating with McCarthy about a new deal, as his initial five-year deal with the team ends on Tuesday, but the two sides were unable to agree on the length of a new contract.
The Dallas Cowboys went just 7-10 this season and were among the league’s biggest disappointments.