Nowadays, we have started seeing more and more young head coaches in the NFL who are doing a good job. However, there are also plenty of veteran coaches who have earned their way to the top job starting from the bottom and working with various organizations at various roles. Mike McCarthy, the current Dallas Cowboys head coach is an example of the latter.
McCarthy, who got his first head coach job with the Green Bay Packers, was already 42 years old at the time. Prior to his appointment as a head coach, McCarthy spent several years from 1987 till 2006 in the league starting out as a graduate assistant and making his way to the offensive coordinator before he was given the hot seat.
Mike McCarthy before head coach job
McCarthy’s first entry into coaching came with the Fort Hays State College football team where he was hired as a graduate assistant in 1987. A couple of years later he joined his hometown college team the University of Pittsburgh in the same capacity as a graduate assistant where he gained valuable experience. He was later made the wide receivers coach as well.
1993 gave McCarthy his first big break as he was recruited by the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL for the offensive quality control position and then the quarterbacks coach from 1995 to 1998. At this time McCarthy worked with the iconic Joe Montana. He then left for the same job to the Green Bay Packers but there for only one season in 1999. With the Packers, McCarthy got to work another legend of the game in Brett Favre.
In 2000, the New Orleans Saints came forward with the offensive coordinator position which he would fulfill for the next five seasons. After 2005, he was offered the same role with the San Francisco 49ers but that lasted only for one season as in 2006 the Packers came forth with a head coaching job.
Mike McCarthy as a head coach
The Packers were in search of their next head coach in 2006 as their previous season ended in a bleak 4-12 record. Obviously things were going to take some time to get turned around, and so 2006 ended with the Packers finishing 8-8 and coming second in their division, but they missed the playoffs.
However, from the next season onwards, things started looking up as they finished second in the conference with a 13-3 record. The team slowly but steadily started to gain momentum and finally reached their goal with a victory in Super Bowl XLV over his hometown team the Pittsburgh Steelers. Unfortunately though McCarthy and the Packers could never make another Super Bowl in all these years even though their regular season performances were always top notch. Within the first few games of the 2018 season, the Packers decided to go in a new direction by firing McCarthy.
After taking a year off, the Dallas Cowboys offered McCarthy the head coach job in 2020 which is where he currently is. Under McCarthy, the Cowboys have now had three seasons in which their last two have both yielded 12 wins and 5 losses, but the playoffs have still been a big hurdle for McCarthy. The team under the former Packers head coach has been unable to get past the Divisional round in the postseason, but looking at the talent at their exposal, the future looks to be in good hands.
FAQs
A. Mike McCarthy has won one Super Bowl as the head coach of the Packers.
A. As of September 2023, Mike McCarthy is 59 years old.
A. Mike McCarthy is 166-107-2 in his 16 years as a head coach.
A. Mike McCarthy’s salary is expected to be in the range of $4-$7 million annually.
