When it does come to game prep, however, McCarthy is confident in the approach he's utilized for a long time, taught to him by none other than former Patriots star Tom Brady.
The pair of former Wolverines have connected over the years, and McCarthy tipped his cap to Brady for providing him with a week-long routine to follow.
"I've just had little add-ons here or there since I've been here," McCarthy noted. "It's this process that you have to keep sticking to, because it works, and you can't let the outcome dictate it, but you adapt it a little bit on the fly. The process that I've built and relied on is something I'm going to rely on in the future."
Spend just a little time around McCarthy and you'll realize he's learning and adapting constantly, in everything he does.
Even on a day like Thursday he can hang his hat on, he'll focus in on those throws he "wants back."
It's simply how he's wired.
"That's something I've been continuing to work on, even since college," McCarthy admitted. "I'm a perfectionist, and I want everything to be perfect out there, but that's just unrealistic. I feel like there's always ways you could get better. There's always little things like ball placement that you could have done more.
"That's kind of the psycho in me," he added. "When [T.J. Hockenson] catches a 20-yard high cross, and I'm like, 'Hm, could have been 30.' But at the end of the day, it's about just staying neutral the whole time after those plays — good or bad, focus on the next play and kick it in the teeth."