Mike McCarthy rejuvenated in return to coaching with Cowboys

Mike McCarthy surely didn’t envision returning to coaching amid a global pandemic when he spent much of the last year dreaming about getting back to the NFL.

And he’s loving it.

Every. Single. Minute.

The Greenfield native rarely left the team’s headquarters at The Star in Frisco before the NFL instituted a league-wide shutdown to adhere to CDC guidelines for nonessential business forcing him to work from home.

And what a home it is, now that he has moved from the Omni Hotel adjacent to Ford Center to 12 Cowboys Way, the luxury high-rise community owned by Hall of Fame quarterback and real estate developer Roger Staubach.

From hiring his coaching staff to evaluating the roster to merging playbook and language of the offense with quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, there has been little daylight for McCarthy and no time to reflect.

He has tried to get a few workouts in his new residence, and he has paused enough to delight in his stepson’s half-court shot in a high school basketball game back in Green Bay, passing the video around to any and every one at his new place of work.

Other than that, McCarthy has been going nonstop since officially replacing Jason Garrett as the ninth coach in Cowboys history Jan. 6. It has been a jam-packed first 100 days, with barely even time to look up. The virtual offseason program starts Monday, and the three-day NFL Draft begins three days later.

But while the trip to the NFL Scouting Combine in February was all business for McCarthy and the Cowboys as they met with free agents and analyzed draft prospects, it also provided an opportunity for him to take stock of being back home in the game again after sitting out the 2019 season following his firing from a 13-year run with the Green Bay Packers in 2018.

It was a rejuvenated, grateful and appreciative McCarthy glad-handing and hugging old friends, well-wishers as well as adversaries on the ground in Indianapolis. He couldn’t contain his excitement to be back.

“I missed the energy of everything,” McCarthy said. “I missed the energy of getting up in the morning where you wake up and your mind is flying 100 miles an hour, and you just want to get going on the next project. This is who I am professionally.

“Yeah, it’s exciting. It’s a great opportunity.”

The old adage of absence making the heart grow fonder has rung especially true for McCarthy.

But he has also returned with a renewed focus and purpose.

He spent time during the year away preparing for this new opportunity, improving his offensive scheme and streamlining his approach to team-building — all in an effort to win another Super Bowl title.

The foundation of the marriage between McCarthy, who won the Super Bowl with the Packers in 2011, and the Cowboys is based on winning it all as quickly as possible.

Owner Jerry Jones believes the Cowboys have the talent to compete for the Super Bowl and identified McCarthy as a proven, veteran coach to get them over the hump.

Jones said it has all shown up in how McCarthy has gone about his business over the last month.

“I like his football demeanor because I like football,” Jones said. “It really fits the role of the Dallas Cowboys. It really fits well. His experience shows up on every issue.”

But the thing that has come across most to Jones, making feel even better about his decision to hire McCarthy, is “how fortunate that he feels to be here, and be in the NFL, and be coaching, and have an ability to compete at the high level that he thinks we can compete.”

“He’s gracious. He’s decisive. He’s appreciative,” Jones said. “I would say again that I like his feel good about getting back in and frankly getting back in with this team, this makeup of this team and with our franchise. It shows.”