The Dallas Cowboys will have a lot of important decisions to make following a disappointing 2024 season, but one of the biggest decisions will be whether to bring back Head Coach Mike McCarthy on another contract.
Dallas entered the year with Super Bowl expectations following a wild-card playoff loss last season, but injuries and a depleted roster have prevented the Cowboys from putting together a winning record through the first 13 weeks.
Now, many have begun to wonder whether Jerry Jones will opt for a heavy reset heading into next season, with McCarthy looking like a prime target for release from the organization.
Dallas signed McCarthy to a five-year contract prior to the 2020 season. He has led the Cowboys to a record of 12-5 in each of the past three years, but regular-season success may not be enough to justify his position as head coach.
The Cowboys’ playoff record under McCarthy has been just 1-3 over the past five seasons, including multiple embarrassing playoff losses to the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers.
McCarthy has been unable to lead the Cowboys to a Super Bowl since being hired in 2020, but he is also near the top of the Cowboys franchise leaders in multiple meaningful statistics.
Dallas has had a total of nine full-time head coaches since the franchise was established in 1960, with McCarthy ranking fourth in win percentage at 59.5% and total wins with 47, per Pro Football History.
Despite the calls for the Cowboys to let McCarthy walk after this season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said it is “not crazy” to imagine Dallas bringing him back on another contract.
“Listen, Mike McCarthy is an outstanding coach. … Mike McCarthy has been there, done that. He’s got great ideas. So the bottom line is in no place in my body language or anything else have you seen an indication about what we’re going to be doing relative to this staff at the end of this year. And we shouldn’t. We’ve got a lot of football left,” Jones said, per ESPN.
McCarthy briefly addressed the conversation about whether he would like to stay in Dallas before Thanksgiving, noting that he will wait until the end of the season to dive into these discussions with the franchise and media.
“I really haven’t talked about it all year. So, I’m definitely not going to start on a short week and an important division game. But I’m not going to throw away positive vibes, either. So keep them coming. It’s all good. But, yeah, that’s not something I’m really focused on,” explained McCarthy, according to Bola VIP.
Despite all the discussion about whether the Cowboys will retain McCarthy long-term, he said that the focus must be on leading the Cowboys to an improbable playoff appearance this season.
“We’re still in the valley of adversity, we’ve taken two steps forward, but we’ve still got a long ways to go. We recognize that. That’s the fun part about it. If you could just see these guys work every day. Their resiliency is evident, their positive attitude. As long as we can get blessed with some good health here and hopefully the guys that were injured today, we’ll get good news on them moving forward quickly,” McCarthy explained, per The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.