Cowboys writer: Hiring Mike McCarthy would be ‘step backwards’ for Giants

We have mercifully reached NFL Week 18, the end of another disappointing New York Giants season. That means it is our final ‘5 questions’ segment of the season. We turn to an old friend, Dave Halprin, of Blogging The Boys for some insight. Halprin has some advice for Giants ownership — Just Say No to Mike McCarthy.

Ed: The Micah Parsons trade is still the big story of the Dallas season. As we get to the end, what is the perspective on whether or not the Cowboys did the right thing by moving on from Parsons?

Dave: I don’t think the perspective has changed, at least for me. It was a bad idea then and a bad idea now. Sure, it’s nice having the extra first-round pick and Quinnen Williams, and who knows how it will turn out down the road, but Parsons’ talent is a game-changer. You just don’t give up generational talent that plays one of the most important positions in football. The Cowboys pass rush this season was bad, along with the rest of their defense. Even before Parsons’ trade, stats showing the difference between when Parsons played and when he didn’t in previous seasons were stark. Ask the Packers about that over the last few weeks. He really lifted our defense. Moving him did give us more contract maneuverability to sign people, so you can stack together reasons why it might make sense. But special talent at pass rusher is a rare commodity, everybody wants one. 

Ed: What are your impressions of Brian Schottenheimer after his first year as the Cowboys’ head coach? This was an unexpected move to Jerry Jones. Has Schottenheimer done enough to make it look like the right one?

Dave: My perspective on this actually did change over this year. When it was first announced, I thought this was just a Jerry Jones special, someone he was comfortable with that he could control. But Schottenheimer has proven he’s got skills. He assembled an excellent offensive coaching staff, and modernized the offense to work better in this age of football. More pre-snap motion, more play-action, smaller splits that help with the running game. Running and passing out of the same formation to keep the defense unsure. He also navigated through a tough season with the Parsons trade, the death of Marshawn Kneeland, and an under-performing, injury-riddled defense that has a coordinator (Matt Eberflus) that many believe was hand-picked by Jones, not Schottenheimer. We have issues to fix in Dallas, but no one is talking about Schottenheimer as being one. His players truly like him, and he has the right mix of  being a player’s coach and being a disciplinarian in him. 

Ed: Dallas waived former All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs this week. Why, and why now?

Dave: Well, there are reports about a travel disagreement between Diggs and Schottenheimer around Christmas and flying home with the team, which you can read about here. But that just accelerated what was going to happen anyway. The Cowboys and Diggs were headed for a divorce this offseason without a doubt. There is very little dead cap left on his deal so it only saves the Cowboys cap space going forward. Diggs has fallen out of favor with the front office for multiple reasons. Injuries being one, but also rehabbing those injuries. The Cowboys don’t feel he’s gone about that the right way, and fined him half a million for not meeting his contractual requirements around rehabbing at the Cowboys facility. His play has also dipped, likely because of the constant injuries. He just can’t seem to get healthy so he’s not the player he was at the beginning of his career, and the Cowboys basically don’t see him trying hard enough to get back to that level. There seems to be some real behind-the-scenes drama here, and his play is not enough for the Cowboys to overlook it.

Ed: Reports are that Dak Prescott and other Dallas starters are going to play on Sunday, at least for a while. Dallas is 7-8-1. Does it mean anything to the Cowboys to finish at .500?

Dave: To the players it seems to. I can understand that considering the year-round preparations and all they pour physically into playing football, they don’t like to lose. Competitive spirit and all. Coach Schottenheimer might care too, as he tries to make his inaugural season a non-losing one. But the fans have mostly checked out. We’re ready for free agency and the draft. Our minds have already turned, and going 8-8-1 isn’t really that important. Heck, losing has its own benefits in draft position. To the players and coaches getting to .500 is important, not so much for the fans. 

Ed: Your cohort at BTB, RJ Ochoa, believes former Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy would be a good choice for the Giants as their next head coach. What are your feelings about that?

Dave: I think I would have to disagree with my friend RJ. Mike McCarthy talked a good game about updating his offense and using analytics when he came to Dallas, but after a while it didn’t really feel like he had. He also seemed to have a little more drama going on in the locker room than we knew when he was coaching. To me it would feel like a step backwards for your organization. It is true he is pretty good with QBs so he might help Jaxson Dart grow, but everything else about his coaching, including some brutal in-game decisions around time management, would make me wary of hiring him. Of course, now that I have said that you guys will hire him and go on to a new dynasty! You can thank me later.