If the Cowboys win on Thursday, they will have to do it without their head coach.
Mike McCarthy will be absent from Dallas sideline activities for their “Thursday Night Football” game against the Saints because he was recently placed on the NFL’s COVID-19 roster.
McCarthy is the latest NFL coach to miss a game due to a positive COVID-19 test, along with two other head coaches who missed the time. Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper, along with others in the Dallas organization, are also dealing with coronavirus concerns.
Here’s the latest on McCarthy’s attack on the virus:
Why doesn’t Mike McCarthy coach the Cowboys?
On Monday, November 29, reports revealed that the Cowboys head coach had tested positive for COVID-19. McCarthy says he’s having mild symptoms, because he had an itchy throat after a positive diagnosis.
If McCarthy is asymptomatic, he could potentially train on Thursday night. However, with his symptoms, he recovered.
The Cowboys released a statement following the news, stating that McCarthy will still participate in team meetings leading up to the “Thursday Night Football” game:
Statement from #Cowboys about coach Mike McCarthy, who will not be on the field for Thursday’s game in New Orleans because of COVID protocol.
Assistant head coach Rob Davis is suitable for a larger role on game day, but it looks like it will be a team effort. pic.twitter.com/7OgxUHBb4w
– Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 29, 2021
Cowboys Coping with a COVID-19 Outbreak: Along with McCarthy, 12 other Dallas players and coaches have tested positive for coronavirus at one point or another in 2021.
McCarthy is the third head coach to miss this season after a positive test, along with Bears head coach Matt Nagy and Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
In July, McCarthy revealed that he had decided to get vaccinated and was said to have originally scheduled a booster shot this coming Friday.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy had scheduled a COVID-19 booster shot before testing positive Monday morning. “Actually I was scheduled to pick it up on Friday, which is ironic.”
– Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) November 30, 2021
Instead, the Cowboys turned to current defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as interim head coach on Thursday night. Quinn, apparently, has a lot of experience in that position: He was the Falcons head coach from 2015 to 2020.
