Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy to return to team Thursday for final WFT prep

The coach spent the full 10 days away with symptoms he described as “more than a cold,” but he’ll be in early Thursday to prep for Sunday. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys’ head coach will back in the building. Just as soon as he possibly can be.

Mike McCarthy has cleared COVID protocols and is set to make his return to work on Thursday. McCarthy spent the full mandated 10 days in isolation and missed the team’s Week 13 win in New Orleans. But now he’ll rejoin the club at The Star in Frisco just in time for final preparations for a key NFC East showdown in Washington this Sunday.

“The protocol experience has been an education, to say the least, but I feel great. I’m ready to go,” McCarthy said, per ESPN. “Frankly, I think it’s more of a technicality with the testing process that’s keeping me out the full 10 days. So my arrival will be first thing in the morning. Actually, I think I might go at midnight, 12:01 tonight.”

McCarthy has been living at a hotel since the day after Thanksgiving. Several of his family members have still contracted the virus, so he will extend his stay a while longer.

“We just want to make sure we get our home space 100% clear before we have everybody back at the house,” he said.

The Cowboys have had a slew of coaches and players on the COVID list recently. Four players and five coaching staff members were taken off the watchlist on Tuesday. Only rookie cornerback Nahshon Wright remains out; he is expected to be cleared on Friday.

The team as a whole will be trying to get back to normal after the mini-outbreak. The facility’s weight room reopened just last week, players can now eat meals at the facility, and meetings will once again be in-person following a brief return to Zoom.

“I’m just thankful that it is behind me and, frankly, I can get back to my job full-time,” McCarthy continued. “It’s a challenge, definitely, not being there every day, especially with what’s right in front of us, the Washington challenge. I’ll definitely look at it as a silver lining as, obviously, I don’t have to deal with [testing] for the next 90 days.”

[listicle id=687753]

[listicle id=687728]

[listicle id=687751]

[lawrence-newsletter]