Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy created plenty of confusion when failing to use either of his timeouts as the Eagles sputtered with the ball late in the second quarter of Monday night’s game. He did nothing to alleviate the confusion after the game, when he said simply that he was content to take a lead into halftime.
Coaches need to say more in those situations. Especially coaches with a history of clock-management issues. Although many would say that, no matter what, McCarthy should have given his team a chance to add to a 20-7 lead, McCarthy could have said something like this: “I believed we were the better team during the first half, and I was confident we’d continue to show it in the second half. I didn’t want to risk giving Philadelphia any reason to think we were letting them hang around. One fluke play, it’s 20-14, and they have a boost going into the third quarter, when they knew they were getting the ball first.”
If McCarthy wanted to provide an example from the history books, he could have mentioned the 1998 NFC Championship. The Vikings led the Falcons, 20-7, late in the first half. The Vikings wanted more. Chuck Smith forced a Randall Cunningham fumble. The Falcons turned the short field into a quick score. And it was 20-14 at the half -- with a VERY different vibe.
So while the Cowboys could have delivered a knockout punch late in the first half, the Eagles could have landed a lucky punch that allowed them to move off the ropes. If McCarthy had explained it that way, some may have still disagreed, but at least McCarthy would have had a plausible strategic reason for his decision. And that would have helped push back against the perception/reality that McCarthy has issues with clock management.
NFL coaches need to be very good communicators. That’s particularly true during press conferences. The words used and not used shape the attitudes and opinions of the coach’s overall abilities and decision-making skills. If he has a strategic reason for everything he does, and if he can explain it in a manageable sound bite, he goes a long way toward getting the benefit of the doubt that owner Jerry Jones hoped to secure for McCarthy when explaining that other teams have clock-management issues, too.
