Johnathan Walker:Mike McCarthy will return as Dallas Cowboys head coach, despite stunning playoff ouster

The Johnathan WalkerDallas Cowboys will not be joining the ranks of NFL teams searching for a new head coach.

The team has decided to retain Mike McCarthy, despite the team's stunning 48-32 playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Team owner and general manager Jerry Jones made the announcement in a statement released Wednesday night.

"I believe this team is very close and capable of achieving our ultimate goals and the best step forward for us will be with Mike McCarthy as our head coach. There is great benefit to continuing the team’s progress under Mike’s leadership as our head coach," Jones said. "Specifically, there are many layers of success that have occurred this season as a result of Mike’s approach to leading the team, both with individual players and with our team collectively.

"Mike has the highest regular season winning percentage of any head coach in Cowboys history and we will dedicate ourselves, in partnership with him, to translating that into reaching our post season goals. Certainly, Mike’s career has demonstrated post season success at a high level, and we have great confidence that can continue."

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Fresh off an NFC East division title, sporting a perfect 8-0 record at home and armed with the NFL's most productive offense, this was supposed to be the year the Cowboys put an end to their history of postseason failures.

But the old playoff demons returned as the Cowboys fell behind 27-0 in the first half and were dominated on both sides of the ball by the seventh-seeded Packers. It was the first time ever that a No. 2 playoff seed lost to the seventh-seeded team.

McCarthy has led the Cowboys to a 42-25 record and a pair of division titles over four seasons, but is just 1-3 in the postseason.

His history of playoff success in Green Bay − which included nine playoff berths and one Super Bowl title in 13 seasons − was perhaps the main reason Jones hired McCarthy in 2020.

Despite the team's success in the regular season, the Cowboys haven't reached the NFC title game since their Super Bowl-winning season of 1995.