New Cowboys coach

Cowboys get their man at head coach, hiring Super Bowl winner McCarthy

The headset has been passed to Mike McCarthy.

Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images

The Dallas Cowboys did not act quickly in deciding former head coach Jason Garrett's fate. The decision dragged out for nearly a week after the season ended.

They did, however, move quickly once the decision to fire Garrett was made.

The Cowboys on January 6 named former Packers boss Mike McCarthy to be the new head coach in Dallas.

McCarthy sat out last season after being fired by the Green Bay Packers 12 games into the 2018 season.

Solid track record
In 13 seasons in Green Bay, McCarthy went 125-77-2 in the regular season for a .619 winning percentage. In the playoffs, he was 10-8 and the Packers won the Super Bowl after the 2010 season.

The Packers made the playoffs nine times in his 13 seasons, including three trips to the NFC Championship Game. Interestingly, he had a 7-3 record against the Cowboys.

The negatives
Things did not end well for McCarthy in Green Bay. The Packers went 7-9 in 2017 and were 4-7-1 in 2018 when he was let go with four games remaining in the season. He sparred with star quarterback Aaron Rodgers at the end of his tenure, and the Packers bounced back to go 13-3 in the year after McCarthy was let go.

An upgrade over Garrett
Still, his numbers tower over Garrett's. The former Cowboys coach was 85-67 over his 10 years in Dallas, making the playoffs just three times and going 2-3 in those appearances, never getting past the divisional round. Garrett had only one losing season, going 4-12 in 2015, but the Cowboys went just 8-8 this season in a year where they were expected to be Super Bowl contenders.

The bottom line
If McCarthy can replicate his successful seasons in Green Bay, Cowboys fans should be thrilled. However, if the Cowboys get the McCarthy who was run out of town after two losing seasons, the hire will be considered a failure. Odds are they will get good McCarthy, as sometimes teams just need a new voice after a long tenure. The Cowboys certainly needed that after 10 years with Garrett.

With McCarthy, they have that new voice. Whether or not it translates to new results remains to be seen, but the Cowboys have their man.

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This story originally appeared on our sister site, SportsMap.

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E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

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Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

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