Sustained excellence is difficult to achieve in the NFL, where salary cap and free agency cause constant roster turnover
In the NFL, sustained success is no easy task. The system is designed to drag every team to the median. The NFL Draft, free agency, salary cap, and schedule all contribute in the continuous trek to mediocrity. Teams go from losing to winning and winning to losing every season. Success is difficult to sustain, but defying parity entirely takes much more.
The 10 winningest teams of the past 20 years have all won at least 56 percent of their regular season games. Nine of those 10 teams have managed to win at least one Super Bowl championship in those two decades. The Dallas Cowboys, of course, are the only team that hasn’t hoisted a Lombardi Trophy.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer suggested that Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy could be coaching for his job in 2024.
The Cowboys have been the league’s fourth-winningest team since McCarthy joined the team in 2020. Dallas has won 12 games in three consecutive seasons. Only the Kansas City Chiefs have won more games than Dallas in the past three seasons, but the Cowboys’ regular season accolades have not translated into postseason glory.
Heading into the fifth year of his stint in Dallas, McCarthy will need more than just regular season wins to save his job.
Nearly three decades after the Cowboys won their last Super Bowl, team owner Jerry Jones is getting antsy.
The Cowboys have the fourth-longest conference championship game appearance drought in the league. When the Cowboys culminated their dynastic run with a Super Bowl title in 1995, nobody would have guessed that they wouldn’t appear in another NFC Championship Game for over 28 years.
McCarthy isn’t entirely to blame for the postseason blunders. The teams that are well-run at every level of the organization are typically the ones that find success. Still, the team’s undisciplined and sloppy play has definitely been a factor in their losses. In the playoffs, the difference between winning and losing often comes down to the details.
McCarthy isn’t the only key member of the Dallas team entering a contract year. The team has yet to extend quarterback Dak Prescott or wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who are both entering the final years of their respective deals. All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons, who became eligible for a contract extension this offseason, is also looking for a new deal.
Next. Micah Parsons reveals why he skipped out on Cowboys OTAs. Micah Parsons reveals why he skipped out on Cowboys OTAs. dark
