A year after his job security was called into question, this one had to feel pretty good for Mike McCarthy. And luckily for football fans, the whole NFL world got to enjoy his viral celebration.
The typically stoic and serious Cowboys coach was given his team’s victory chain by Trevon Diggs and proceeded to dance in the locker room after their 31–14 win over the Buccaneers on Monday. There’s nothing quite like a NFL coach trying his best on the dance floor.
His moves leave something to be desired, but the celebration was warranted given this was his first playoff win since being hired in Dallas back in 2020.
This time last year, the Cowboys were eliminated in the wild-card round by the 49ers, and McCarthy was subjected to questions about his job security all offseason. Even in the week leading up to the matchup against the Bucs, quarterback Dak Prescott appeared fed up with the narrative that McCarthy’s job was in jeopardy.
“First, what back-to-back 12 wins in y’all tell me how long and we’re talking about a guy’s job in jeopardy? That just shows you when you play for this organization what comes with it and that’s why it’s important to create these walls around us, create this safe place in our locker room and understanding what matters is the men that go out there and get in between the lines and put the work in throughout the week for us to go out and win,” Prescott said.
McCarthy and his team will get a chance at revenge on Sunday when they travel to San Francisco for the divisional round. Kick off against the 49ers is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on Fox.