'We've Been Kicking Ass!' Coach Mike McCarthy's Message to 5-1 Cowboys

McCarthy is trying to make certain his Cowboys - who didn't win a fifth game last season until Week 15 - both cherish success and continue to hunger for it.

FRISCO - Mike McCarthy is the proud son of Joe McCarthy, who back in Pittsburgh was a cop, a firefighter and a bar owner. As a result, the Dallas Cowboys coach doesn't much put on airs, walking and talking like ... well, the son of a Pittsburgh cop/firefighter/bar owner.

There are times when the guy running the Cowboys needs CEO-level polish. There are other times when it pays for McCarthy to be McCarthy. ... like in the postgame locker room after his Cowboys fought their way to a 35-29 overtime win at New England to jump to 5-1.

“Hey, men, let me say this: Lot of great things today,” McCarthy told his players. “We need these kind of wins, OK? We’ve been kicking ass here for a couple weeks!''

McCarthy's series of messages continued into Monday back here at The Star, when he praised his Dak Prescott-led team (MRI scoop here) while also cautioning them during this bye week to "Be safe and be smart.''

But combined with that sober message is McCarthy trying to make certain his Cowboys - who didn't win a fifth game last season until Week 15 - both cherish success and continue to hunger for it.

"These games will go a long way in December and January. Awesome, OK?'' said McCarthy, who would later repeat that theme to the media, stressing that winning a "dogfight,'' even when Dallas plays imperfectly, is a learning lesson. "We had a lot of things go against us, just kept playing, kept playing. This is why we spend as much time as we do at the end of the game. No one blinked. Great fight. Loved it out there, man.''

There are some Cowboys players who, at least early last season, did not find McCarthy to be what we might call "approachable.'' Maybe that's because they didn't know him. Maybe that's because he didn't know them. Or maybe that's because McCarthy has learned, even after all these years, which include his Super Bowl win in Green Bay, to keep trying to be better himself.

"You guys are awesome,'' said as part of his speech, as Dallas now rests before it takes on the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, October 31. "This is how you go into the bye week.”

And then? The plan would be for the Dallas Cowboys to "kick some more ass.''

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