Cowboys Mike McCarthy A Hall of Famer? What Coach Says

"I have no interest in being known as some guru coach or a smart coach,'' Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy says. "I want smart, Hall of Fame-type quarterbacks.''

FRISCO - Somebody on Twitter started a rather random Mike McCarthy thread the other day regarding his fascinating case when it comes to potentially being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

On the surface, it does not seem that he is thought of that way; indeed, there are infinitely more stories being written about the coach being "on the hot seat'' with the Dallas Cowboys than there are about McCarthy working his way toward a path to Canton.

And yet ... is legitimate candidacy for the Hall of Fame about facts? Or is it about opinions?

McCarthy has won one Super Bowl - or "only one,'' to his critics. Since 1999, he has had the fourth most wins of any head coach in the NFL. Since that same time, he has registered the third-most playoff appearances. And all told, the Packers-turned-Cowboys coach has the eighth-best average margin of victory among his contemporaries.

Yo is Mike McCarthy a Hall of Fame Coach?

Since 1999 he has...
• 4th most wins
• 3rd most playoff appearances
• 8th best average margin of victory
• a Super Bowl Ring pic.twitter.com/rMDVrvoMIJ

— Robby (@greerreNFL) June 10, 2023

OK, that doesn't make him the equal of Vince Lombardi. But as we've pointed out in this space before, he does sort of make him the equal of Sean Payton. It's weird; Payton - even in Dallas - is viewed as a genius. McCarthy is viewed by some as being "just a guy.'' And yet ... don't Mike McCarthy and Sean Payton have nearly identical resumes?

During his years in Green Bay, McCarthy never much bothered to "play to the media''; he has frankly discussed that fact with CowboysSI.com and a select few media outlets, only hinting a bit at his chagrin about that.

In his three years in Dallas, the media scrutiny has been greater than at any time in his long career. But he's also put some effort into building relationships with media members who might in the long run be able to serve as a conduit between him and an audience that deserves to know more about exactly what the heck he does around here.

Did he win a Packers Super Bowl because of QB Aaron Rodgers? Of course; that's how sports work. Did Rodgers win a Super Bowl after being tutored by "Big Mike''? Yup. That's also how this works.

McCarthy recently spoke on the idea of being perceived as a "QB guru,'' and really, as being perceived of something well short of that. His self-evaluation is a revealing one.

"I have no interest in being known as some guru coach or a smart coach,'' McCarthy said. "I want smart, Hall of Fame-type quarterbacks.''

McCarthy had one when he was a young coach in Kansas City - named Joe Montana. He had another when he moved to Green Bay in Brett Favre. And then came not only Rodgers, but a handful of other QB prospects who came through Green Bay, learned under McCarthy, and excelled elsewhere.

McCarthy's Hall of Fame candidacy may very well rest on the shoulders of Dak and the Cowboys and the new "Texas Coast Offense.'' If he wins another one? With a different QB? Maybe history will notice ... not that the coach - who like any other human obviously would like recognition - will publicly demonstrate too much concern.

"The only way to get there,'' McCarthy said of team greatness, "is you got to make (the QB) own the offense. And you see it (in Dak). He has the personality ... He’s done a really good job of taking ownership of that and with that, the mental challenges, he has knocked it out of the park.”

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