In what world is the job of an NFL head coach in jeopardy after leading his team to 12 wins and a playoff berth in three straight seasons?
In Jerry's world.
This is the precarious perch on which Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy sits uncomfortably after Sunday's 48-32 loss to the Packers in the wild-card playoffs at AT&T Stadium.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is 81 years old and needs results now.
Postseason results.
The last time his team made it to the NFC Championship Game was in the 1995 season, when they won the Super Bowl. Since then, the Cowboys' playoff results have been abysmal, going 5-13 with seven one-and-done innings.
So speculation about McCarthy's job status will intensify after the shocking report Sunday that Dallas' home winning streak ended at 16 games. The seventh-seeded Packers were in a close boat race with the second-seeded Cowboys from the start, prompting jokes on social media that Jones would call on Bill Belichick at halftime.
The loss, in which McCarthy was beaten so badly by Green Bay's Matt LaFleur, and the way it unfolded, was so overwhelming that gallons of gasoline were thrown into the flames surrounding McCarthy. At the very least, there's more speculation that Jones has reached out to Belichick.
I went into this game thinking it would be unfair and an overreaction for Jones to fire McCarthy if Dallas lost. His body of work has been impressive, with the Giants winning 37 games and the Jets winning 36 games in the past seven years, while the Jets have won 36 games over the last three years.
However, as the game unfolded, I changed my mind by halftime. Change has to happen because I don't think Jones or Dallas fans can tolerate this postseason failure any longer. It would be an unhealthy situation for McCarthy to remain in Dallas after this.
With this loss, the Cowboys became the only team in NFL history to win 12 games in three consecutive seasons and fail to advance to a conference championship in either season.
Jones told reporters after the game that it was the most “heartbreaking” loss he had endured as a team owner, calling it “beyond my comprehension.” He added that he hasn't “thought for one second” about McCarthy's future.
Asked about his coaching future, McCarthy said: “I'm not thinking about the outcome of this game.”
Don't get me wrong. This loss was devastating for the Cowboys, who entered the game as a touchdown favorite against a Green Bay team that was the youngest team (by average age) to reach the playoffs since 1974.
The Cowboys entered the game with all of their starters having playoff experience. But it didn't seem that way.
“We were really loose,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love said after the game. “We came here with the mindset of having an advantage.”
The Cowboys looked unprepared, uncoordinated and nervous. From the moment LaFleur went against conventional coaching strategy, won the coin toss and went on offense, the seventh-seeded Packers were able to punch the Cowboys in the mouth, and they were outplayed and outnumbered. And they did that, with running back Aaron Jones scoring on the first possession for the first of three rushing touchdowns.
The Packers had a better quarterback, who cut through the Dallas defense like Love was Aaron Rodgers in his prime. Love was 16-of-21 for 272 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers. He has now thrown 21 touchdown passes and only one interception in Green Bay's last nine games, which is 7-2.
Who is Aaron?
Meanwhile, Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott, who is 2-5 in his career in the playoffs, completed 41-of-50 for 403 yards with two interceptions (one of which was a pick-six) in the first half. He showed a terrible performance until garbage time. 3 touchdowns and 2 picks.
“It sucked,” Prescott said. He currently has 10 interceptions in six games against the Packers, with a record of 1 win and 5 losses.
He wasn't the only one.
Defensively, Dallas didn't have an answer for Jones, a Texan who rushed for 118 yards and three TDs (he had nine points in four career games against the Cowboys). The Cowboys also forgot to mention Packers second-year receiver Romeo Doubes, who had a big day with six receptions for 151 yards and one TD.
The product Dallas put on the field Sunday was embarrassing and unacceptable in a game the Cowboys absolutely, positively must win.
So the pressing questions are: How unacceptable will Jones find this loss?
And would that prompt him to call Belichick or someone else (Jim Harbaugh?) to replace McCarthy?
Immediately after the Cowboys' Thanksgiving Day loss to Washington, an ebullient Jones stood before reporters and declared, “This team can definitely win all of this.”
That tells you everything you need to know about what he expected from this team. And that leaves us all, especially McCarthy, wondering what will happen next in Jerry's world.
