MOBILE, Ala. – The Cowboys will have a new play-caller in 2023, even though it's not going to be a new voice.
On Wednesday, Jerry Jones confirmed the plan that head coach Mike McCarthy would indeed take over as the new play-caller for the offense now that Kellen Moore has moved on to the Chargers.
"This is the logical step to build on it and use what we've established, if you will, the foundation of the things we've got," Jones said. "This is the time for us to build on it. That's what this is, a building step."
While McCarthy will call the plays, the Cowboys are still interviewing for the offensive coordinator position. This week, they interviewed Rams assistant head coach Thomas Brown and Panthers running backs coach Jeff Nixon for the job.
Also, the Cowboys are expected to hire veteran coach Mike Solari as their new offensive line coach.
There will be more coaches added to the mix, but the focus will remain on McCarthy, especially with his new role … that isn't so new.
McCarthy was a successful play-caller for the Packers during his time as head coach, calling the plays for an Aaron Rodgers-led offense. Jones was asked if the Cowboys will now change their offensive philosophy to what McCarthy ran in Green Bay.
"It will be, in principle, the way he operated in Green Bay, which I'm sure he'll tell you evolved," said Jones, who added that the option for McCarthy to call plays has always been on the table, but it makes more sense now than when he first became head coach back in 2020.
"I'm comfortable at this time because of how it's evolved. I'm more comfortable than I would have been had he started calling the plays right when he came in as head coach," Jones said before attending one of the Senior Bowl practices. "I've always viewed him (as more than) a walk-around head coach. I've viewed him as a coach who could coach the offensive side of the ball."
Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones expressed his admiration for Kellen Moore, but said it was probably time for a change, which is normal when trying to take the next step.
"I think the more (McCarthy) has been around Kellen and as much as he respects him, there's still a part of it that doesn't totally jive, if you will, with what he wants out of the offense," Stephen Jones said. "I think he wanted Kellen to (succeed), but he didn't totally agree 100 percent with all of the philosophies and the small things that goes into it. And it ultimately came down to, hey, if we're going to take the next step, he wants to see if he can make the changes that he thinks can make the difference that he didn't necessarily think that Kellen might have believed in. That's common. We had that with Jason [Garrett] and Scott Linehan and on down the line."
