No, Mike McCarthy did not throw OC Kellen Moore under the bus

Dec 19, 2021; East Rutherford, N.J., USA;
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy looks on during the second half of their game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy made a remark on Friday that, if taken out of context, could have been construed as him expressing displeasure with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. That clearly was not the case, however.

McCarthy spoke with reporters about the changes the Cowboys are going to make now that Cooper Rush is starting in place of an injured Dak Prescott. At one point, McCarthy said Moore needs to be smarter with his play-calling. That particular portion of the press conference went viral, but there was a lot more to the quote than that.

Here's the full quote: https://t.co/t6Crz9zNds pic.twitter.com/rWPnNCc2WF

— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) September 16, 2022

“We just have to trust what we’ve built on our menu and you have to adjust when you have change in the lineup,” McCarthy said. “We want to work through that and make sure we’re helping, but maybe not be as conservative as you’d like to be. Let’s be honest, in Kellen’s time as a coordinator he’s been able to play very, very aggressive. We’re in a phase right now where we’ve gotta be a little smarter in certain situations. That’s all part of growing as a play-caller.”

You can see why the full context was important. McCarthy was stating the obvious, which is that there are going to be situations with Rush under center where Moore can’t be as aggressive as he would be if Prescott were leading the offense. The head coach was not throwing Moore under the bus for any of the Cowboys’ struggles.

Prescott suffered a fractured thumb in Week 1 and underwent surgery. The Cowboys seem optimistic that he will return a lot sooner than expected.