As Wild Card weekend has finished, news has broken in a monster way from the Dallas Cowboys about their coaching situation. After announcing on Sunday Night that former head coach Jason Garrett had been officially fired, it came out early Monday morning that the Dallas Cowboys had hired former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy. McCarthy, who was fired late in the 2018 season by the Packers, has won a Super Bowl, went to four NFC Championships, and six NFC North Titles including four straight from 2011-2014. McCarthy takes over a team that was ranked number one in total offense and a defense that was ninth in yards allowed and 11th in points allowed, but ranked last in special teams. McCarthy announced that he will bring in a new analytical team made up of 8 members and has reportedly reached out to former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan to become the Defensive Coordinator for the Cowboys. While many criticisms have come out about the Cowboys, many people are seeing this as a good move by the Cowboys and the best head coaching hire since Jimmy Johnson in 1989. But Dallas is not the only NFC East team making big moves.
On January 1, 2020, the Washington Redskins announced that their new head coach was former Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera. Rivera immediately came out after accepting the job and said that he would hire former Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio as his defensive coordinator. Rivera said, “He’s been a very successful coach in this league. He’s had opportunities in this league and he’s succeeded in this league.” Rivera, a former Super Bowl champion linebacker with the Chicago Bears, was the coach for the Panthers from 2011-2019 and was twice named NFL Coach of the Year and took the Panthers to only their second Super Bowl appearance in 2015, a year in which the Panthers went 15-1. Rivera is known for his toughness and, much like his former head coach, Mike Ditka, he is not afraid to tell his team what he thinks of them. Once, while being filmed for the Amazon series All or Nothing during the 2018 season, Rivera told his defense, “Guys, you have a chance. You have an opportunity in front of you. If you don’t accept that opportunity, if you don’t take advantage of that opportunity, shame on you. Now let’s get our asses going. Let’s show up on Wednesday with the right resolve and go out and beat the (expletive) out of Tampa Bay.” Long have I criticized the Washington Redskins for being soft and not being a desirable place, they are now a desirable place.
I got news for you folks. If the New York Giants can get a solid head coach, and the Philadelphia Eagles remain more or less the same, this division, which was the cream of the crop for decades in the NFL, may return as one of the elites. But only time will tell for the NFC East.
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