The Dallas Cowboys’ 2024 regular season has concluded and the organization must quickly shift into offseason mode and begin evaluating the personnel on the roster and coaching staff.
The Cowboys’ record of just 7-10 this season means the organization secured the 12th overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, which has the potential to create a meaningful impact for years to come, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Dallas will also have to make decisions about multiple other aspects of the team that will have major implications for next season.
The most meaningful decision the Cowboys front office will make is whether to retain Head Coach Mike McCarthy, who is now entering the offseason without an extension. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said the organization has “got a lot of work to do” over the coming days and weeks to make a decision on the head coach.
“That’s what the next few days and weeks are about now, founded on everything that’s happened this year and everything that’s happened over the last four years, for they’re not really much different than any time that we’ve had a year that is over,” said Jones, per The Cowboys. “I’ve had coaches under contract that I thought we might consider a change and they were thinking maybe a change under contract.”
While the Cowboys may look to retain McCarthy’s services for the coming seasons, the former Super Bowl-winning head coach could be a hot commodity for other teams searching for a new coach.
The Chicago Bears have reportedly reached out to the Cowboys to ask for permission to interview McCarthy for the role of head coach, though Dallas has yet to respond to the request and could wait to provide a definite answer, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
“If the Cowboys don’t allow permission this week, the Bears could interview McCarthy after his exclusive negotiating window with Dallas expires Jan. 14,” added Schefter in his report.
Additionally, the New Orleans Saints moved on from former Head Coach Dennis Allen during the season and have now been linked to McCarthy for their vacant position, per Sports Illustrated.
Chicago and New Orleans are currently the only teams that have been reported to be interested in McCarthy at this time, but other organizations could still look to poach him before Dallas signs him to a potential extension.
Dallas will also have to prepare to sign linebacker Micah Parsons to an extension during the offseason, which is familiar territory for a team that dealt with the extensions of quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb last offseason.
Jones said he expects to “talk to Micah” about an extension and that getting a deal done early in the offseason should not change the team’s outlook for next year.
“I’m not going to alter my timeframe in any kind of negotiation over somebody thinking that one of them [might have] been a little more together in training camp, and that they would’ve had a better year. I don’t buy that and I’ll never buy that,” he said, per The Cowboys.
Following the end of the regular season, Parsons said he has “one of the best jobs in America” and wants to remain with the team. He added that an earlier extension could ease some of the concerns leading into next season.
“I don’t want to hold anybody up. I want to see some of these (free agents) back in this locker room. We have a great opportunity. I want to see change. I want to see players here. I want to be as aggressive as we can be. I don’t want to be a headache to nobody,” Parsons said, per Jon Machota of The Athletic.
Although the Cowboys’ offseason is only just beginning, they will have many decisions to consider over the coming weeks.