Mike McCarthy on Tuesday addressed a report from earlier in the day about anonymous Dallas Cowboys players blasting the coaching staff.
The Cowboys got smashed 38-10 at home on “Monday Night Football” to fall to 2-4. A day after the game, NFL Network reporter Jane Slater shared some anonymous criticism of the Cowboys’ coaches that she received from players (read the report here).
McCarthy is in his first year as Cowboys head coach and tried to preach the message to his players about keeping their complaints in-house. That message was violated when a few players shared their criticism with Slater.
McCarthy spoke with the media later in the day Tuesday and gave his response to the report. His message remained the same: he wants the players to handle things within the team.
Mike McCarthy on report of players questioning coaches: “When you hit a part of a season where there’s negativity out there….you have to recognize it. I’ve always stated to every team I think it’s an important thing to handle it as men” and address it in house w/ those involved
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 20, 2020
The anonymous criticism did not specify whether the players were taking issue with McCarthy or other assistant coaches. The team’s defense has been horrendous this season, which has led to some criticism of defensive coordinator Mike Nolan.
Regardless, it’s not a good thing for players to be publicly criticizing the coaches like that. It makes everyone involved look bad and makes it harder to turn around the season and generate positive momentum.
