Cowboys give Mike McCarthy vote of confidence despite Sean Payton rumors

Mike McCarthy will be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 2022, despite Sean Payton’s availability following his resignation as Saints coach.

The controversial end to the Dallas Cowboys season put McCarthy under the microscope, and not to his benefit.

McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore opted to call a quarterback run with just seconds remaining despite having no timeouts remaining in their eventual Wild Card round playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Dak Prescott failed to spike the ball in time, leaving nothing but zeros on the clock at AT&T Stadium.

The aftermath rightly placed blame on McCarthy, as he gets the final say in such decisions. McCarthy trusted his personnel, and it backfired. While some fans called for his firing, the Cowboys have stuck by him, albeit with tongue in cheek.

Now, even with a better option available on the coaching market, Dallas will not fire McCarthy.

Cowboys: Dallas sticking with Mike McCarthy

The Cowboys gave McCarthy that assurance after the playoff defeat and haven’t wavered, despite Payton’s availability.

For what it’s worth, Payton may not want to coach this year anyway. The former Saints head coach claims two teams have reached out to his representatives only to be turned away.

Now, should the Cowboys struggle again next year, we could be having a different conversation altogether. But for now, dumping McCarthy after just one year and a disappointing playoff defeat wouldn’t be a wise choice. McCarthy did help turn Dallas around, from basement-dwellers in the NFC East to division champions.

The Cowboys still have a long way to go to reach their ultimate goal, but Jerry Jones is willing to give it at least one more shot with McCarthy in charge.