Cowboys 2.0? NFL Coach Raises Alarming Scenario For New-Look Patriots

As speculation swirls about whether the Cowboys will replace Mike McCarthy with former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, here's something else to consider: Will New England look more like Dallas moving forward?

It's a scenario The Athletic's Mike Sando explored in his latest "Pick Six" column published Monday, one day after Dallas' playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers and less than a week after New England parted ways with Belichick.

The Patriots replaced Belichick with Jerod Mayo, an internal option long tabbed as the heir apparent, and it's now fair to wonder whether team owner Robert Kraft and his son, Jonathan, will be more hands-on with New England's football operations -- much like Jerry Jones has been with the Cowboys since parting ways with Jimmy Johnson in 1994. After all, New England seemingly is in no rush to name a new general manager.

"There is one guy who has been doing it for 20 years, and now everyone has got their say, and it has the potential to be Dallas all over again," a veteran coach told Sando. "The owner has been held back for 20 years. He is going to be involved. His son is going to want to be involved. It will be interesting if they tell the coach it was Bill's fault with Mac Jones and he can play and we gotta get him right."

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Perhaps we're not giving the Krafts enough credit. They might be content staying out of the weeds, leaving the personnel decisions up to Mayo and whoever spearheads the football ops department.

But there was a time -- back before Belichick earned Robert Kraft's full trust -- when ownership was a little more involved in that sort of thing. So, it wouldn't be totally shocking if the Krafts use the reset -- turning to a 37-year-old former Patriots linebacker with no head-coaching experience -- as a way to start leaving their fingerprints on the on-field product. Only time will tell.

Regardless, it's a rather alarming hypothetical when you consider how that approach has turned out for the Cowboys in recent years. Dallas often looks like a championship contender during the regular season but hasn't won a Super Bowl title since the 1995 campaign.