HOUSTON, TX – FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots gives a thumbs up … [+] on the field prior to Super Bowl 51 against the Atlanta Falcons at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
In the wake of a humiliating 48-32 home loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, both Bill Belichick and Deion Sanders are being mentioned as possible replacements should Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones opt to part ways with head coach Mike McCarthy.
Jones, 81, called the loss — at home, in the first round — the “most painful” of his career but said he hadn’t had time to think about what’s next for a franchise that hasn’t been to a conference championship game since 1995 and has won four playoff games since 2000.
“I won’t get into any of the addressing of any aspects of it, any part of it, from the coaching to the players to what’s around the corner,” Jones told reporters in Dallas. “On a personal basis, I’m floored.”
Jones added that the loss “seemed like the most painful [of his career] because we all had such great expectation and we had hope for this team and thought that we were aligned in a great shape and it didn’t happen for us.”
It appeared the Cowboys quit on McCarthy during a game in which they trailed the No. 7 seed 27-0, and it’s hard to imagine he will return as the team’s coach.
McCarthy is now 1-3 in playoff games in Dallas and, according to ESPN, the Cowboys are the first team in NFL history to win 12 games in three straight seasons and fail to make the conference championship in any of them.
With the Cowboys trailing 27-7 at halftime, former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, who was recently inducted into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor, went off on the players on FOX.
“I don’t need to have people pointing the fingers,” Johnson said, angrily shouting into the camera..” … You get your rear end in there and you play the way you know how to play. We can win the game. We’re going to open it up. We’re gonna go fast tempo. Defense, get after Jordan Love, you can’t give him that much time. You do what you’re supposed to do. We’ll win this game!”
The Internet went wild during and after the game with mentions of Belichick, the 71-year-old coaching legend who on Thursday parted ways with Patriots owner Robert Kraft after leading that franchise to six Super Bowl titles in a partnership with quarterback Tom Brady.
Some national columnists are already calling for Jones to pick up the phone and hire Belichick, although it remains unclear how the two strong personalities would coexist.
Belichick, who stands 14 wins behind Don Shula for most coaching wins in NFL history, has also been linked to the Falcons and the Commanders, with former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski saying on FOX, “I’ve been hearing on the streets that the Atlanta Falcons are coming in hot for Coach Belichick.”
Meantime, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III called for the Cowboys to hire Colorado coach and former Cowboys star Deion Sanders to replace McCarthy.
“I hate calling for coaches jobs because it’s not what I do, but it’s got to be the coach,” Griffin said on social media. “You guys have three consecutive 12-win seasons and nothing to show for it. … A lot of people are saying you should go get Bill Belichick as your next coach, because we all know that Mike McCarthy’s stuff was packed before this game was already over. His office, empty. He gone.
“But I know who you need. You need Coach Prime. That’s right, Deion Sanders, Coach Prime.”
Sanders played in Dallas from 1995-99, and was a member of their last team to win a Super Bowl after the 1995 season.
BOULDER, COLORADO – APRIL 22: Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes watches as his team … [+] warms up prior to their spring game at Folsom Field on April 22, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
His coaching star took off at Colorado in the early part of this season and he was named the Sports Illustrated “Sportsperson of the Year” before his team finished 4-8.
“Coach Prime knows how to win in Dallas,” Griffin continued. “He knows what it takes to have a championship mindset. He knows how to hold his guys accountable and he is a culture changer. Look at what he did at Jackson State going 27-6. Completely changed the culture there at that at HBCU. Then he goes to Colorado and he changes the mindset there.”
For now, McCarthy is still the Cowboys coach, and Jones has a lot to think about.
“I don’t have any thoughts about the reasons why or anything to do with the coaching, anything to do about the players,” Jones told reporters in Dallas.
“I wanna give Green Bay a lot of compliments and credit, and this is one of my most surprises since I’ve been involved in sport, period.”
