Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones confirmed Wednesday that Mike McCarthy will be the franchise’s first head coach to call plays since Jason Garrett in 2012, and that McCarthy will run a version of the West Coast offense he used from 2006-18 with the Green Bay Packers.
“This is the logical step to build on it and use what we’ve established, if you will, the foundation of the things we’ve got,” Jones said to reporters at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. “This is the time for us to build on it. That’s what this is, a building step.”
It will be the first scheme change quarterback Dak Prescott has had in his career with the Cowboys.
From 2016-22, the Cowboys used versions of the same offense but with different playcallers, first with Scott Linehan (2016-18) and then with Kellen Moore (2019-22).
“It will be, in principle, the way he operated in Green Bay, which I’m sure he’ll tell you evolved,” Jones said.
The Cowboys and Moore agreed to part ways, and Moore quickly landed the offensive coordinator job with the Los Angeles Chargers. Executive vice president Stephen Jones hinted at differences in opinion between McCarthy and Moore that led to the breakup, while speaking to reporters in Mobile.
Jerry Jones said the Cowboys have interviewed Jeff Nixon, assistant head coach offense for the Carolina Panthers, and Thomas Brown, the Los Angeles Rams tight ends coach for the coordinator vacancy.
Veteran offensive line coach Mike Solari will join the Cowboys, replacing Joe Philbin, per a source. He was an assistant offensive line coach under McCarthy in Green Bay (2015) and spent the last four seasons as line coach for the Seattle Seahawks.
McCarthy still has to fill the quarterbacks and running backs coach openings on the offensive side of the ball and has a few openings on the defensive side as well.