Mike McCarthy’s midweek appendectomy won’t keep him from coaching this weekend.
The Dallas Cowboys head coach spoke to reporters over a conference call on Friday, indicating his coaching duties won’t be hindered on the sidelines against Philadelphia.
“I feel good,” McCarthy said. “And I anticipate everything staying normal come Sunday night.”
McCarthy required medical attention after developing acute appendicitis Wednesday, undergoing surgery to address the matter. The procedure went well, and after McCarthy’s coordinating lieutenants ran Wednesday’s practice, the coach was anticipated to return for a pivotal game against the division-rival Eagles on Sunday.
“You always miss the guys,” McCarthy said about missing practice. “You miss the players and coaches — that’s the hardest part about being away — but the only game plan meeting that I missed was a short-yardage and goal line. We’d actually did a preview on the red zone Tuesday night, so I wasn’t concerned about missing any of the game plan part of it. But yes, not being here is not where you want to be. I was excited to get back. It definitely felt great walking in here today. The meeting, we did it virtual. It was different because it was virtual but we got everything done that we normally get done on a Thursday night.”
McCarthy has the Cowboys cooking this season with an offense that has been remarkably explosive, so much that Dak Prescott has entered the NFL Most Valuable Player conversation after throwing for 250-plus passing yards in six of their last seven games, a span in which he’s posted a 21-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Dallas has lost only once in that stretch of time: a 28-23 defeat in Philadelphia in early November.
With their coach back in action, they’ll aim to avenge that loss and bring the NFC East race into a tie at the top of the standings with a month left to play.