Cowboys: Predicting when Jerry Jones will change his mind about Mike McCarthy

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has choices, but he is committed to Mike McCarthy for now.

Another day, another press conference where Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones makes head coach Mike McCarthy look like he is not long for the job.

When you give the man a mic, something amazing is always bound to happen. Training camp just opened up in Oxnard, California for America’s Team, and its long-time owner inadvertently put its head coach on the hot seat once again…

While Jones believes McCarthy is the right man for the job, he also said he has other options…

"“I want to be real clear: He wouldn’t be sitting here today if I didn’t believe he was the man to lead this team to a Super Bowl. And I have choices,” said Jones of McCarthy in his Cowboys training camp introductory press conference."

With top coordinators Kellen Moore and Dan Quinn in-house, how soon will it be before Jones changes his mind on his current head coach?

Let’s take a look at the Cowboys’ 2022 season schedule and see, if and when, it will hit the fan.

Figuring out when Jerry Jones decides the Mike McCarthy slumber party is over

As it is every year, Cowboys fans view this season Super Bowl or bust. Too bad Dallas has not been to a conference championship game since the Bill Clinton Administration. Only the Detroit Lions and Washington two nicknames ago have had a longer drought in the NFC. So McCarthy taking the Cowboys to the Super Bowl is just like Columbus taking the Browns to the Super Bowl.

Not to say Jones will be madder than Tallahassee coming across a wrecked Hostess van full ‘o Snowballs, but there is a snowball’s chance this season will not be another one full of great disappointment. In the meantime, you gotta enjoy the little things. So let’s limber up and figure out when Jones is most likely to tarmac McCarthy this season, shall we? What if he is in Appleton?

Here is Dallas’ 2022 NFL season schedule:

• Week 1: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sunday, Sept. 11)
• Week 2: vs. Cincinnati Bengals (Sunday, Sept. 18)
• Week 3: at New York Giants (Monday, Sept. 26)
• Week 4: vs. Washington Commanders (Sunday, Oct. 2)
• Week 5: at Los Angeles Rams (Sunday, Oct. 9)
• Week 6: at Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday, Oct. 16)
• Week 7: vs. Detroit Lions (Sunday, Oct. 23)
• Week 8: vs. Chicago Bears (Sunday, Oct. 30)
• Week 9: Bye
• Week 10: at Green Bay Packers (Sunday, Nov. 13)
• Week 11: at Minnesota Vikings (Sunday, Nov. 20)
• Week 12: vs. New York Giants (Thursday, Nov. 24)
• Week 13: vs. Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, Dec. 4)
• Week 14: vs. Houston Texans (Sunday, Dec. 11)
• Week 15: at Jacksonville Jaguars (Sunday, Dec. 18)
• Week 16: vs. Philadelphia Eagles (Saturday, Dec. 24)
• Week 17: at Tennessee Titans (Thursday, Dec. 29)
• Week 18: at Washington Commanders (Sunday, Jan. 8)

As we “that’s a win, that’s a loss, Dog” it up, what are reasonable expectations for Dallas? The Cowboys should vie for an NFC East repeat in a down NFC and win a playoff game, maybe two. No NFC East team has repeated Donovan McNabb vomited up Chunky Soup in his Jacksonville Super Bowl, so that is loss for the Cowboys, Dog. If Dallas misses the postseason, McCarthy is so gone.

In theory, a 10-7 campaign should get the Cowboys into the postseason, either as a weak sauce NFC East repeat champion or one of three NFC Wild Card teams. Anything short of that, Jones may need to check in on his options before Black Monday arrives. Let’s just say that Sean Payton wants to try his luck in coaching again. What is to stop Jones from canning McCarthy on Christmas Eve?

A home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles to fall to 6-9 on Christmas Eve may be the time it happens.