Mike McCarthy's Week 1 history could sum up tenure with Cowboys

A slow start to the 2024 season would all but give Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy an early pink slip.
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The Dallas Cowboys left a lot to be desired in the 2023 season. After an all-too-familiar playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys are determined to set the tone early in the 2024 season.

However, during head coach Mike McCarthy's tenure in Dallas, the Cowboys have often fallen flat on their face out of the gate.

Could a Week 1 loss this season be the beginning of the end for McCarthy in Dallas?


McCarthy's losing Week 1 record in Dallas

Mike McCarthy
Wm. Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK

The 2023 season was the first Week 1 victory of McCarthy's tenure with the Cowboys, putting his overall record at 1-3.

Dallas absolutely gobsmacked the New York Giants, 40-0, to show the league that the Cowboys were a real threat to be a Super Bowl contender. The team finished the year with 12-5 for the third straight season, and it felt like it was finally time for the franchise to make another deep playoff run.

That was up until the Packers stunned the Cowboys nation in the house that Jerry built. The same Jerry who has all eyes on Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns.

Cowboys fans demand success, and the franchise's history will tell you that the demand makes sense. A once proud franchise is now starving for a divisional-round playoff win.

It hasn't happened since the 1995 Super Bowl season. Starting 0-1 against the Browns, with the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens to follow, could have the McCarthy era on life support.

Jerry's patience will certainly grow thin with an ugly start to 2024. The most important game in McCarthy's coaching career could be September 8.

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Tyler Reed

TYLER REED

“ Tyler majored in communications at the University of Kentucky and has previously been a contributor with Busted Coverage and FanSided.”