ARLINGTON, Texas — Jerry Jones often likes to say he has a high tolerance for ambiguity. The Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager apparently wants everyone, including Mike McCarthy, to have the same for the next few days and possibly longer.
At least that’s how he sounded following Sunday’s season finale, a 23-19 loss to the Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium.
“There’s nothing comfortable about it,” Jones said while answering several questions about the team’s head coaching position. “What’s comfortable around here?”
Jerry Jones heads to the locker room as the Cowboys finish the season 7-10 pic.twitter.com/zjhGh678cf
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) January 5, 2025
The five-year contract McCarthy signed in January of 2020 runs out on Jan. 14. He made it clear after Sunday’s game that he “absolutely” wants to remain in Dallas.
“I don’t like to talk about myself,” McCarthy said, “but I’ll just be clear. I’m a winner. I know how to win. I’ve won a championship. I’ve won a championship in this building. And that’s who I am. We’ll see where it goes.”
McCarthy was in an excellent position to get a second contract following a third consecutive 12-win season a year ago. But then Dallas suffered arguably the worst postseason loss in franchise history. Entering the NFC playoffs as the No. 2 seed, the Cowboys were embarrassed by the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers, who led 48-16 early in the fourth quarter and eventually won 48-32.
Then came this season. Dallas got off to a poor start, losing three of its first six in lopsided fashion. Injuries then began to play a major factor as the Cowboys lost QB Dak Prescott, DE Micah Parsons, DE DeMarcus Lawrence, RG Zack Martin, LB DeMarvion Overshown and CB Trevon Diggs. Parsons was the only one of the group that didn’t have his season ended early.
Sunday’s loss dropped Dallas to 7-10, tied for the most losses McCarthy has ever had in a season as an NFL head coach. His 2008 Packers team finished 6-10. He led Green Bay to a Super Bowl championship two seasons later.
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McCarthy was hired to have similar postseason success in Dallas. Jason Garrett did not get a new contract following the 2019 season because of his lack of playoff success. Garrett led Dallas to one playoff victory in his final five seasons as head coach, the same number the Cowboys have won under the previous five seasons with McCarthy.
Some would assume that that alone would mean Jones would be ready to go in another direction. But he legitimately sounded Sunday like he is still unsure on his final decision. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported before Sunday’s game that Jones was in favor of having McCarthy return, but added that he didn’t know if everybody in the organization felt the same.
When asked specifically about that report, Jones declined to comment.
“At the risk of talking about something that I don’t want to talk about at this time, we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Jones said. “Certainly we’re all looking for ways to get better.”
When asked again about potentially making a change at head coach, Jones responded: “I don’t know that I am considering making a change.”
Jones also would not rule out the possibility of bringing back McCarthy but having a different offensive play caller. “Anything is possible,” Jones added.
About the only thing Jones was clear on was that he is not giving up his title as general manager. He said it’s “very fair” to question the roster he provided McCarthy and the coaching staff this offseason. The Cowboys were already a team that did very little in terms of adding veteran players via free agency and trade. They did even less last offseason. The only notable moves were signing LB Eric Kendricks and bringing back RB Ezekiel Elliott. Both were one-year deals.
“I think that’s very fair,” Jones said. “I always provide the roster for the coaches. If you don’t get there then you’ve always got some second guessing. I second guess myself all the time.”
Jones said he’s aware of the potential available coaching candidates, noting that he always has a list. If he doesn’t make a decision soon, McCarthy could choose to not wait and interview with other clubs. Jones didn’t sound concerned about that possibility.
“I wouldn’t want anybody coaching here that didn’t want to be here,” he said.
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The top candidates include Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. Other former NFL head coaches who have drawn interest from other teams include Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, former Carolina Panthers and Commanders head coach Ron Rivera, former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and possibly even former Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden. Other notable current coordinators with no head coaching experience include Lions DC Aaron Glenn, Buccaneers OC Liam Coen and Bills OC Joe Brady.
The Cowboys waited seven days before announcing that Garrett wouldn’t be coming back after the 2019 season. Jones could again follow a similar timeline. He will allow McCarthy to conduct his regular end-of-season meetings with players and coaches this week. Jones will then likely meet with McCarthy at the end of the week. The two have not yet spoken about McCarthy’s job status. It doesn’t make sense for Jones to need much longer to come up with his decision.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself as a head coach,” McCarthy said. “Body of work, the statistics, I think it’s more about the program, the details of what needs to be done, how we can get better, all those things go into these decisions, whether you originally get the job or continue to move forward. I’m definitely in position with Jerry to move the program forward. There’s no question about that in my mind. That’s why these conversations need to happen in the near future. …
“I have a lot invested here. And the Cowboys have a lot invested in me. And then there’s a personal side to all of these decisions. They all point in the right direction. … I’m a builder. I believe in building programs. I believe in developing young players. At the end of the day, it is about winning. You have to have those components in place to get this thing where it needs to be. I think we have a very good foundation there.”
(Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
