Cowboys rumors: Ezekiel Elliott upgrade, Jerry Jones genius, McCarthy's future

The Cowboys entered the regular season with a strong belief that they could blossom into legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Instead, head coach Mike McCarthy's team has limped to a 3-3 start that sees Dallas struggling for playoff contention.

As a result, the higher-ups inside the Cowboys organization are desperately searching for changes that can turn their season around. Those changes could range from tweaks to the active roster to large-scale coaching changes. Everything is on the table for Dallas if they believe it can jump start thier lackluster campaign.

The end result has the Cowboys rumor mill churning out stories left and right. The following three rumors are the most worthy of fans' attention.

Could Ezekiel Elliott get replaced by a Cowboys trade target?

The Cowboys want to establish their ground game to take pressure off of quarterback Dak Prescott and his receiving corps. The idea of bringing Ezekiel Elliott back to town is that he could inject some physicality into the team's rushing attack.

Unfortunately, he's only averaging three yards per carry which ranks him 55th out of 58 NFL running backs with enough tempts to qualify per PFF's ratings. The eye test does not do him any additional favors. He looks far too slow to trouble opposing defensive coordinators.

A trade with the Panthers for Miles Sanders could provide Dallas with a cheap way to add some versatility to their offensive backfield. He's fallen out of favor in Carolina and can likely be acquired via a late-round draft pick. Trading for Sanders would represent a low-risk flyer for the Cowboys.

The relevant question here is whether or not Sanders actually represents a meaningful upgrade over Elliott. He's only averaging 3.3 yards per carry, but he can give the Cowboys more in the passing game than they're getting from Elliott at the moment. Trading for Sanders would help Dallas but only if the Panthers are willing to let him go for almost nothing in return.

Jerry Jones isn't ready to admit defeat just yet for the Cowboys

Plenty of NFL executives have questions about whether or not the Cowboys roster has enough talent to compete for an NFC East title. The group has plenty of star power at the top, but roster depth is a major question mark for Dallas.

Owner and General Manager Jerry Jones does not share that concern. He still has complete confidence in the roster that "GM Jerry" built. That self-confidence is buoyed by the place that homegrown stars like Prescott, Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb occupy on the current roster.

Jones' hubris decreases the likelihood that sweeping changes will hit the Cowboys during the current regular season. He insists there won't be roster changes, but those comments are more directed at pushing back against the idea of a fire sale rather than truly equaling no minor changes in the coming weeks.

It's unclear how Jones' thoughts might chance if Dallas falls entirely out of playoff contention in the next month or so. They should hang in long enough to prevent major trades before this year's trade deadline. Veterans could see their job security disintegrate down the stretch if the Cowboys aren't potseason factors. Jones' propensity to change his mind quickly should have a lot of employees on notice.

Mike McCarthy's job is safe for now

Jones is adamant that he has "no plans" to fire head coach Mike McCarthy or either of his coordinators during the regular season. That might come as a disappointment to many fans who are still licking their wounds after last week's 47-9 defeat to the Lions.

In fairness to Jones, drastic in-season coaching changes rarely yield major benefits in the modern NFL. The more logical, measured course of action would be to wait until the conclusion of the regular season to make any coaching changes. His assurance that he isn't considering parting ways with McCarthy at the moment only applies through the team's 17-game campaign.

Once the playoffs hit all bets are off. Ironically, it might take more than qualifying for the postseason to earn McCarthy and his staff another season in charge of the team. Jones has been clear about his belief that the roster has the talent required to win a title. Squeaking into the postseason as a Wild Card and going out after one game will not be enough to satisfy the demanding owner's wishes.

Every game that Dallas loses between now and the end of their season will prompt more questions about McCarthy's medium and long-term future. The only way the Cowboys can stop those questions would be to offer him a long-term contract extension. That type of deal isn't coming absent a miraculous turnaround in Dallas. This organization needs a change in direction and making a coaching change is always easier than a massive roster overhaul. That fact should weigh heavy on the minds' of McCarthy and his assistants despite Jones' recent public support.