The Dallas Cowboys hired Mike McCarthy to be their next head coach, and R.J. Choppy doesn’t exactly have a strong opinion on the matter.
“I think I’m OK with it,” Dallas’ 105.3 The Fan host said on After Hours with Amy Lawrence. “That’s the best I can give you. I think it’s a good hire. I don’t really know. I can be talked into liking it. He’s a good coach. I’m surprised they didn’t go the college route – Lincoln Riley, Matt Rhule, Urban Meyer. I’m surprised they didn’t bring those guys in for formal interviews. But look, Mike McCarthy certainly has a really good resume.”
There’s no denying that. McCarthy went 125-77-2 in Green Bay and made the playoffs in nine of his 13 seasons. He played in four NFC Championship games and won a Super Bowl.
“My biggest question is how much of Mike McCarthy’s resume is because of Aaron Rodgers?” Choppy asked. “That’s one thing he won’t be able to answer and he still has to answer. How much of him is because he had one of the best quarterbacks in a generation and one of the best quarterbacks of all time? I think that’s a question nobody can really answer at this point in time.”
But shouldn’t McCarthy get credit for helping to develop Rodgers?
“Personally, I think elite all-time great quarterbacks pretty much get there because they’re elite all-time great quarterbacks,” Choppy said. “He can help you along the way, but Aaron Rodgers was going to be a great quarterback regardless of who is coach was. If he had Jason Garrett as his head coach, I think Aaron Rodgers’ career is very similar to what it is now. I think he’s there because of Aaron Rodgers.”
While McCarthy may not be a sexy hire, he knows his way around an NFL locker room. You can’t say that about Riley, Rhule or Meyer.
“Lincoln Riley [has a] track record with being a really good offensive mind and working with quarterbacks, and obviously Urban has had a long, long history,” Choppy said. “But there’s always a question with guys from college because they don’t have to win games like you do in the NFL where you have a talent disadvantage. I think that’s one of the questions as to why college coaches haven’t necessarily had the same success in the NFL that you would think.”