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Cowboys entire coaching staff signed pink slip with consecutive 4th down blunders

Mike McCarthy isn't the only coach who should be concerned about his job after the latest comedy of errors from the Cowboys.

Randy Gurzi

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy / Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
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Mike McCarthy's job security has been called into question all season but he's not the only one who should be on the hot seat. Following a comedy of errors in the third quarter against the Falcons, it's clear that the entire Dallas Cowboys coaching staff is in over their head.

Trailing 14-10, the Cowboys got the ball to start the third quarter and a 10-yard run from Rico Dowdle normally would have been good enough to move the chains. Thanks to a false start from Terence Steele that wasn't the case. Instead, they were still facing a 4th-and-2 a few snaps later and had to punt.

Or at least they lined up for one.

Dallas didn't punt, however, as Bryan Anger threw the ball on a fake. The pass never had a chance and fell to the turf, giving Atlanta the ball on the Dallas 38. Special teams coach John Fassel has been good for much of his career but his unit has struggled, outside of Brandon Aubrey, and this was another example of that.

MORE: Dak Prescott, Rico Dowdle team up for unreal TD of the Year contender

Unsurprisingly, Mike Zimmer's defense gave up a touchdown in the blink of an eye. That drive was capped off with an 11-yarder from Ray-Ray McCloud who was wide open. The reason he was so open was that Zimmer's defense can't handle pre-snap motion. Something every other defense knows how to defend.

McCarthy reminded us on the next drive that he's just as unprepared with his offense. A completion from Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb set up a 4th-and-inches. Dallas was going to go for it, possibly with a QB sneak, but that didn't happen.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

His team proved to be undisciplined once again, this time being flagged for having 12 men in the huddle. That pushed them back five yards, leading to a punt.

What's worse is that McCarthy had just as bad of a time going for it on fourth-and-short in the first half. On that play, he ran a receiver reverse for Lamb, rather than going for it with their 238-pound QB or one of their running backs.

Dallas is in danger of falling to 3-5 and if that happens, it's hard to see Jerry Jones remaining patient. Especially if the coaches continue to make life harder on themselves.

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Randy Gurzi
RANDY GURZI

Arizona State grad

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