Coach Mike McCarthy Wanted Kicker Greg Zuerlein to Stay With Cowboys; History Wonders - Why?

Zuerlein had one of the most powerful legs in franchise history, but is his resume strong enough to make the list?

PALM BEACH, Fla. - When kicker Greg Zuerlein signed a contract with the New York Jets last week, he left a lousy legacy with the Dallas Cowboys - and yet coach Mike McCarthy said on Tuesday here at the NFL annual meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, “I was hoping to get Greg done.''

"Done,'' as in, "persuade Zuerlein to stay in Dallas with a contract reduced from his scheduled $2.2 million salary.''

"But,'' McCarthy continued, "that didn’t work out. …We’ll probably be looking at a lot of different guys there ...

"It’s definitely a position of focus.”

But we will argue that even had Zuerlein stayed on ... it should've been a "position of focus'' that included "looking a different guys.''

Signed to a be an offensive weapon because of his superior leg strength, the 34-year-old veteran's two seasons in Dallas were littered with inaccuracy from distances both long (5 of 14 on 50+-yard field goals) and short (nine missed extra points).

The Cowboys can't directly blame their 2020-21 failures on their departed kicker, as he was perfect (2-2 on extra points, 1-1 on field goals) in the Wild Card playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Zuerlein made 11 consecutive field goals late last season. In just two years, he made the 8th-most kicks in franchise history. And in 2021 he connected on four dramatic, pressure field goals: Tying the game at Tampa (48 yards, 1:24 remaining), beating the Chargers (56, :00) and forcing overtime in New England (49, :20) and against the Raiders (45, :19).

But he missed a field goal in a three-point loss to the Arizona Cardinals. And the six extra-point misses were both excruciating and inexcusable.

Dan Bailey

Eddie Murray

Brett Maher

As every Cowboys fan knows, Zuerlein was both incredibly powerful and infuriatingly inconsistent. He's the basketball player that misses two free throws in the third quarter, but recovers to hit the game-winning 3-pointer from half-court at the buzzer. He's the baseball pitcher that walks the bases loaded, then promptly strikes out the side. His kicks are rarely smooth and straight, instead featuring uncomfortable and unpredictable movement that teases and scares before - usually - winding up at the desired destination between the uprights.

In the Cowboys' five regular-season losses, Zuerlein four missed field goals and two extra points.

We shouldn't be surprised the Cowboys let him walk - regardless of the money - as owner Jerry Jones said of Zuerlein entering his team's Week 17 finale:

“I think the most important part of a kicker is consistency. And it’s not consistently missing.”

Though the Cowboys have never won a playoff game on a final-play field goal, they have lost a couple in the waning seconds including Super Bowl V (Jim O'Brien's 32-yard field goal for the Colts), a 2006 Wild Card game (Tony Romo's botched hold in Seattle) and a 2016 Divisional Round heartbreaker to the Packers (Mason Crosby's 51-yarder as time expired).

The Cowboys' last crucial kick that won them anything close to a playoff game? Eddie Murray's 41-yard field goal in overtime at The Meadowlands in the 1993 regular-season finale that beat the Giants and set them up with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs en route to a second consecutive Super Bowl victory.

Greg Zuerlein

Watermelon Onside Kick

Chris Naggar

We don't yet know who will kick for the Cowboys in 2022. Free agent Chris Naggar is the only kicker on the roster, but he has only attempted one kick in the NFL. 

The undrafted free agent kicker was the best kicker - and punter! - in his conference in 2020, the 24-year-old having transferred to SMU after spending his previous four seasons at Texas, where he was the punter. The 6-1, 194-pound Naggar bounced around to a bunch of teams in his first pro season, but now the Arlington native (he was a three-year letter winner at Arlington High School and the 6A All-State kicker and punter during his senior season) gets a chance to compete with his family's favorite team.

What we do know is that kicking cannot be undervalued, evidenced by six of 2021's final seven playoff games being decided by three points or less (the other by six points in overtime).

In their 62 seasons, 34 players have attempted a field goal for Cowboys. We picked the best 10:

10. Mike Clark 1968-73 - Dallas' last straight-on kicker made three extra points and a rare 9-yard field goal in Super Bowl VI.

9. Toni Fritsch 1971-75 - Austrian soccer-style kicker made team's 6th-most field goals, but only 20 of 59 from 30+ yards.

8. Richie Cunningham 1997-99 - Fourth-most field goals in team history (75), 80-percent accuracy and 95 of 95 on extra points.

7. Efren Herrera 1974-77 - Mexican-born kicker made only 67 percent of his career kicks, but converted field goals of 35 and 43 yards in Super Bowl XII.

6. Nick Folk 2007-09 - Made 79 percent of field goals, holds franchise record for most extra points without a miss (131).

5. Brett Maher 2018-19 - At increased extra-point distance made 68 of 69 and nailed 10 of 15 field goals from 50+ yards.

4. Rafael Septien 1978-86 - Made 112 more extra points than any other Cowboys kicker, and second-most field goals with 162.

3. Chris Boniol 1994-96 - Third in made field goals, including two in Super Bowl XXX and a team-record seven against Packers in 1996.

2. Eddie Murray 1993,'99 - Never missed an extra point and his clutch 41-yard field goal in overtime against Giants set up Dallas' Super Bowl XXVIII run.

1. Dan Bailey 2011-17 - Missed only two of 278 extra points, and is franchise all-time leader in made field goals (186), 50+-yard field goals (27) and longest field-goal streak (30).