National Football League

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy: We have a 'championship program'

Published Jan. 18, 2024 2:45 p.m. ET

Despite the team's 48-32 loss at home to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC wild-card round, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced on Wednesday night that the organization is retaining head coach Mike McCarthy for a fifth season.

McCarthy, who said he's "very confident in the direction" the Cowboys are headed in, as well as where he is, expressed that while they didn't perform to their "standard of play" against the Packers, he's the right person to steer the ship in 2024.

"We have an unbelievable fan base, and they should be frustrated. We're extremely disappointed, for them and for the performance. But my message is this: we've established a championship program, it's just not the world championship, yet," McCarthy told the Cowboys team website Thursday. "We know how to win, we know how to train to win and we have the right people.

"We just have to cross the threshold in playoff games. It's extremely disappointing, but I know how to win, and we will get over that threshold. And that's why I'm standing here today."

[Vacchiano: Keeping Mike McCarthy was Cowboys' best move — like it or not]

The Cowboys went 12-5 for a third consecutive season, good for their second NFC East division title in three years. Dallas winning the division was assisted by the Philadelphia Eagles losing five of their last six regular-season games — before being handled by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round, 32-9.

Quarterback Dak Prescott had arguably the best season of his eight-year career, totaling 4,516 passing yards, an NFL-best 36 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 105.9 passer rating, while completing 69.5% of his passes. Prescott's passer rating and completion percentage were career-bests. He also rushed for 242 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cowboys boasted an elite unit on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they averaged 371.6 total yards (fifth in NFL) and 29.9 points (first) per game. Defensively, they surrendered just 299.7 total yards (fifth) and 18.5 points (fifth) per game.

Dallas went 8-0 at home before the Packers came to town. Meanwhile, Prescott threw two interceptions in the first half of the wild-card loss, including a pick-six that gave Green Bay a 27-0 lead.

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Dallas is a combined 42-25 in the regular season and 1-3 in the postseason under McCarthy. Prior to taking over in Dallas, McCarthy was the head coach of the Packers from 2006-18, most notably winning Super Bowl XLV and going a combined 125-77-2.

The Cowboys haven't appeared in the NFC Championship Game since the 1995 NFL season.

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