Jerry Jones is already combatting Mike McCarthy hot seat rumors

The Dallas Cowboys haven’t even been eliminated from postseason contention, and Jerry Jones is on the offensive in regards to Mike McCarthy’s job.

Can Dallas Cowboys fans have anything nice? Even in a season where they went 12-5 and qualified for the postseason, head coach Mike McCarthy can’t quite avoid the hot seat discussion.

Cowboys general manager and owner Jerry Jones was asked on a radio show appearance if, the Cowboys lose to the Bucs, McCarthy will be on the hot seat. Jones’s response was an emphatic no:

Mike McCarthy has mostly avoided his demons with Cowboys this season

The last several years, clock management has been Mike McCarthy’s primary downfall. While there are still games left to be played for that demon of McCarthy’s to rear its ugly head, it hasn’t been a primary piece of the narrative for most of this season.

This will be the second consecutive 12-5 season for the Cowboys after Dallas went 6-10 in his first season. He’s also taken the team from a 17th-best offense in terms of points per game to 1st last year and fourth this year. The defensive improvement has been even stronger under McCarthy going from 28th, to 7th, to 5th in the last three seasons, though some of that is certainly credit to defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

While Jones is obviously posturing the media away from McCarthy hot seat rumors, it might be a different story if the Cowboys lose to the Bucs in the Wild Card round of the postseason, especially if that loss comes as a result of McCarthy’s inability to manage the clock. Repeatedly, it has felt like McCarthy is the squeaky wheel.

Especially if Dallas can land Sean Payton, who has felt destined to land there for years, might the Cowboys look to move on from McCarthy?

So far, the answer is no. But remember, Jerry Jones essentially guaranteed Odell Beckham Jr. would be a Cowboy. A lot can change in an instant.