Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy went the diplomatic route when asked the most important question of his introductory press conference in Dallas on Wednesday.
Did Dez Bryant catch it?
The question is, of course, referring to the controversial end of the 2014 NFC Divisional Round game between the Packers and Cowboys. Bryant’s late catch was reversed by a McCarthy challenge, and the Packers, who led 26-21 at the time, went on to beat the Cowboys and advance to the NFC title game.
McCarthy initially applauded Bryant for an incredible display of athleticism, crediting him for going up and over Packers cornerback Sam Shields to attempt to catch the ball. McCarthy also revealed that a conversation with referee Gene Steratore about the exact definition of a catch and logistics of the review eventually pushed the Packers coach to challenge the call on the field.
Then, he finally answered the question.
“It was a great catch, I can say now, but it wasn’t then, technically,” McCarthy, the new Cowboys coach, said.
It was a clever answer that should satisfy both sides of the argument.
Video evidence doesn’t lie: Bryant briefly lost control of the ball as he hit the ground, with part of the ball hitting the ground.
By the rulebook definition of a catch in January of 2015, it wasn’t a catch, as the replay decision reflected. Would it have been a catch in January of 2020? Possibly.
McCarthy later joked that the Cowboys and the league’s competition committee helped get the definition of a catch changed.
A Packers coach for 13 years, McCarthy was out of football in 2019 but will now take over a Cowboys team that went 8-8 in their last season under former coach Jason Garrett.