Stephen A. Smith Goes on Epic Rant After Mike McCarthy Calls Cowboys ‘Championship Program’
The Dallas Cowboys are officially keeping Mike McCarthy as their head coach in 2024, despite a third straight disappointing playoff exit. The veteran McCarthy will be in his fifth season leading the Cowboys and doesn’t have a contract beyond next year.
McCarthy has led Dallas to a 12–5 record in each of the past three seasons, but Cowboys fans expect more. While speaking to the media for the first time since the news broke, McCarthy explained why he is the right person for the job.
“We have established a championship program; it’s just not the world championship yet,” McCarthy said. “We know how to win, we know how to train to win, we have the right people, but we have not crossed the threshold winning playoff games.”
Mike McCarthy has a message for Cowboys fans:
— NFL on CBS ???? (@NFLonCBS) January 18, 2024
"We have established a championship program... I know how to win and we will get over that threshold" pic.twitter.com/YsWF0anW9E
Well, that answer was not good enough for Stephen A. Smith. The ESPN analyst went on a tirade on First Take after hearing McCarthy call the Cowboys a “championship program.”
“Excuse me… are you telling me, did I miss something that championships are won without winning playoff games?” Smith said. “That is the most asinine quote that I have heard in recent memory!”
Stephen A. just blew a gasket over Mike McCarthy's press conference pic.twitter.com/OjbT4JRDlR
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 18, 2024
Smith didn’t end there, as the personality criticized McCarthy’s lack of winning with both the Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers despite having such great quarterbacks.
“You’ve had Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott, and you have one championship to show for it in 17 years!” he added. “You are 1–3 in the postseason since you arrived in Dallas four years ago, and you’re gonna sit up there with a straight face, just days after an embarrassment, and say to the world ‘We have a championship program!’”
In 17 years as a head coach, McCarthy has 167 regular season wins but only 11 in the playoffs, including a .500 record in the postseason. Still, despite Smith’s criticism, Dallas is giving McCarthy another chance to lead the team to a championship.