At one time, they were rivals in the primes of their career, fighting each other tooth and nail for the same birthright. Now they're teammates, gearing up for one last ride.
Is that the plot of a new movie starring Tim Allen and William H. Macy, or the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff in 2024?
It's the latter, as former Mike Zimmer is now set to return to Dallas as the Cowboys' defensive coordinator, according to a Thursday night report from NFL Network.
Zimmer was the Minnesota Vikings head coach from 2014-21, where he squared off annually with McCarthy's Packers through his mid-season 2018 firing. Zimmer's teams went 5-4-1 against McCarthy's, with the Vikings and Packers trading NFC North championships for the first four seasons the two shared the division.
But that's all over now.
The new mission: Zimmer must immediately help save McCarthy's job, who will coach 2024 on the final year of a 5-year contract.
McCarthy has elevated the Cowboys' play during the regular season. After an injury-riddled and pandemic-interrupted debut in 2020, McCarthy has gone 12-5 each of the past three seasons with two NFC East championships and three playoff appearances.
But he was hired to end a Super Bowl drought now inching dangerously close to three full decades, and thus far McCarthy's only delivered one playoff victory. The Cowboys entered this year's playoffs as the No. 2 seed, facing the possibility of two straight home games while riding a 16-game home winning streak.
And they exited almost immediately. The Cowboys fell in a 27-0 hole to No. 7 seed Green Bay in what long-time observers called the worst lost in franchise history.
For the 60-year-old McCarthy to save the last NFL head coaching job he'll ever get, he'll need the help of his 67-year-old former rival.
Mike Drop, coming to an NFL stadium near you this fall.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.