Dez Bryant: “The Cowboys Just Became Real Contenders”, Is He Right?

• Dez Bryant is the Cowboys all-time leader in receiving touchdowns with 73.
• Jason Garrett had an 85-67 record in 10 seasons as the Dallas Cowboys head coach.
• The Cowboys have already hired Mike McCarthy as their new head coach.

DALLAS – The Dallas Cowboys finally moved on from longtime head coach Jason Garrett in what seemed to be a prolonged breakup. The organization announced Sunday that it would be moving forward without Garrett, who had been with the Cowboys as a player and coach for more than 25 years.

After the team underperformed this year, having finished with an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs, the writing on the wall was clear. When you add in the fact that Garrett wasn’t offered an extension at the beginning of the season after taking this team to the playoffs a season ago, it makes it even more astounding how he was able to keep his job the entire season.

Before the 2019 season began, the Cowboys odds to reach the Super Bowl were among the upper echelon of teams. But, the team ultimately finished with a record too poor to get them into the playoffs.

Although Garrett was given a lot of time and talent to bring Dallas back to the glory days (days in which he was a backup quarterback that won two Super Bowl rings) he failed, making his departure from the Cowboys inevitable.

A former wide receiver of Jason Garrett’s and the Cowboys leader in receiving touchdowns in franchise history, Dez Bryant, did not feel bad about his former head coach being axed by the team in a tweet.

At the time of the tweet, Bryant didn’t even know who the Cowboys' next head coach would be. This speaks volumes to the type of talent the Cowboys have on their roster especially on the offensive side of the ball.

With Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott setting career highs in nearly every passing category, running back Ezekiel Elliott rushing for 1,000 yards and 10+ touchdowns for the second time in his career, along with two wide receivers who both eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper, the Cowboys have an offensive core that many coaches would love to have.

The Mike McCarthy Factor

The Cowboys have moved quickly, and Garrett will be replaced by former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy with a press conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

McCarthy will inherit a young team that has shown on any given Sunday they can compete with some of the best teams in the NFL and other times can be a complete disaster. McCarthy will be tasked with getting this unit disciplined and playing consistent so that they can win ball games.

Historically, McCarthy has been a winning coach with a 125-77-2 career record in 13 seasons, with one Super Bowl victory and a 10-8 career record in the playoffs. It’s McCarthy’s expertise in developing quarterbacks and his attention to detail that makes him an intriguing hire for the Cowboys.

Unlike his situation in Green Bay, McCarthy won’t have to worry about a GM being idle while he wants better players because Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wants to win sooner rather than later. He has spent a year away from the NFL trying to figure out ways to modernize his offense while also embracing analytics.

However, McCarthy will have a talented roster to work with and will be expected to walk in the door and win games right away.

The Cowboys have the 17th pick in the upcoming draft and they are hoping they can find some help on the defensive line or secondary which would solidify them as a real contender.

The Cowboys Competition

The Cowboys road back to the Super Bowl won’t be easy as they’ll have teams like the New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers, and Green Bay Packers to compete with for a Super Bowl berth in 2021. Several of those teams still have a shot to win the NFC Championship this season.

More so, the first key to success for the Cowboys will be winning the NFC East. The Cowboys only lost one game to a team in the NFC East last season and with McCarthy, at the helm, the standard should be kept the same. With the Washington Redskins and New York Giants in the middle of rebuilding their franchise, only the Philadelphia Eagles can keep the Cowboys from claiming another NFC East title.

All things considered, Cowboys fans can rest comfortably knowing that the team has hired a more accomplished head coach than they’ve had for the past 10 seasons. Whether or not that change is apparent may be shown when Dallas plays its first game in 2020.