Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy still has a soft spot for Green Bay

McCarthy, who normally shows little emotion, struggled to hold back tears when discussing what he missed about Green Bay in a Monday news conference. Perhaps it's because he's entering Lambeau Field as an opposing head coach for the first time this Sunday.

McCarthy was the Packers head coach from 2006-18. He had a successful tenure, winning Super Bowl XLV in 2010 and leading the Packers to nine playoff appearances in 13 seasons.

Even though he had a great run in Green Bay, he had a poor finish. After missing the playoffs in 2017 and a 4-7-1 start in 2018, McCarthy was fired a few weeks before Christmas. 

After he was fired, McCarthy told ESPN, "...the timing surprised me. Actually it stunned me. It couldn't have been handled any worse."

Along with poor performance, Green Bay rushed to get rid of McCarthy because he had a tense relationship with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.  

An unnamed source told Bleacher Report's Tyler Dunne, "Rodgers felt McCarthy had one of the lowest IQ's, if not the lowest IQ, of any coach he's ever had."

Clearly, McCarthy wanted to prove Rodgers was wrong, so he vowed to become a better coach. According to NBC Sports Peter King, he locked himself in a garage for months, watching hours of game film, developing a new analytics-based strategy.  

The Cowboys liked this approach, hiring McCarthy in 2020. The Cowboys hope he gets his coveted victory against Rodgers and the Packers (3-6), so they can improve to 7-2 and strengthen their playoff chances.