Throughout the current season, the Cowboys have had a high share of one-off absences due to COVID-19. However, one of the most notorious occurred last week after head coach Mike McCarthy’s positive. A situation that, remember, caused his absence last Thursday in the game against the New Orleans Saints. Now, a week after testing positive for the virus, McCarthy is close to getting back to work.
So Stephen Jones, executive vice president of the Cowboys, let it be seen. During a radio interview on Monday, Jones gave an estimated date for McCarthy’s return to the team’s facilities. This, it is worth noting, based on the usual times of the protocol applied in cases of COVID-19.
“We think that it will be the same as with the players, that it will be a period of 10 days”Jones said at 105.3 The Fan. “We will probably have him back on Thursday. Don’t think this will happen sooner. This rarely happens “.
Likewise, the executive vice president of the team spoke in the aforementioned interview about the current state of health of the head coach. And, according to his words, it seems that there are no setbacks.
“He’s feeling good, and he’s getting over it in a good way.”Jones said of McCarthy. “He’s obviously doing everything the right way. The medicine is excellent, he has been able to work despite it and he feels very good “.
It was Nov. 29 when Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy first tested positive for COVID-19. With standard 10-day protocol, earliest he can return to facility is this Thursday. EVP Stephen Jones on @1053thefan: “Probably looking at getting him back on a Thursday. …He feels great.”
– Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) December 6, 2021
Recall that Mike McCarthy tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, November 29. Since then he has been in the respective protocol, in which he must stay for at least 10 days. After this time, it is only necessary that two tests of the virus are negative, and that there is 24 hours of difference between them. Once these steps have been completed, the head coach will have the go-ahead to return to the team’s facilities.
McCarthy’s discharge saw Dan Quinn, Dallas’ current defensive coordinator, take over the team on an interim basis last Thursday against the Saints. However, McCarthy kept in touch with the coaching staff and his players virtually in the days leading up to that game. And it has continued to do so during these days.
“Certainly, he is doing all his work and preparing the team, and we know that he would be there with the team”Stephen Jones said Monday. “But at the same time, he does a great job communicating via Zoom and preparing his coaching staff”.
“He’s just dying to get back & get his hands on the team,” Stephen Jones says of Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy. “He’d love to be there hands on but at the same time, he does a great job Zooming in & getting his staff prepared.”
8-4 Cowboys visit 6-6 WFT for NFC East game this week
– Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) December 6, 2021
In fact, Dan Quinn can attest to how active Mike McCarthy was in his work despite the virus. This is what the Cowboys defensive coordinator showed in recent statements to the press. In them, Quinn spoke about McCarthy’s contact with the team, and the expectations for his return.
“Communication has been excellent”Quinn said of McCarthy. “Mike really did it before, during and after the game (against the Saints). Mike’s 10-day window could end on Thursday, but if he has two negative tests, he could be here sooner. “.
At the moment, Thursday appears to be the set date for Mike McCarthy’s return to the Cowboys’ Frisco facility. Either way, the head coach and his assistants continue to prepare for this Sunday’s game against the Washington Football Team. Duel that, remember, Dallas is forced to win so as not to complicate life in the face of the postseason.
