Jerry Jones’ fingerprints are all over latest Cowboys-Mike McCarthy rumor

There's no shortage of Dallas Cowboys fans who have been ready for head coach Mike McCarthy to go for a few years now. Now in the final year of his current contract, though, the future of the man patrolling the sidelines is now very much in the forefront of conversation about the franchise. One problem: We haven't had too many indications as to what Jerry Jones will decide to do.

To put it plainly, there's been mixed messaging from Jones and the Cowboys. Several players in Dallas have expressed support of McCarthy potentially returning but the owner himself has offered both positive and negative vibes around the head coach's future.

So when NFL insider Josina Anderson reported on Saturday that there haven't been "earnest discussions" about the next step with McCarthy, seemingly indicated that the organization may just let his contract expire and move on, it's hard not to think that Jones is the one frustratingly making this decision.

Whatever happens with McCarthy, the fact that Anderson specifically noted that "emotions swing daily" sounds like a specific indictment on what's wrong with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys.

Mike McCarthy likely not returning to Cowboys... at least right now

Nothing about assessing the future of Mike McCarthy should be an emotional decision. Has he gotten the job done when the job entails more than just winning regular season games? The answer there is no and, if that's the case, then is there real conviction that will change if he were re-signed as head coach?

Those are the things that should be considered in this decision. The fact that emotion was mentioned as all, swinging or not, is fully indicative that this is the handy work of Jones. Far too often, he's run this organization with obvious and misguided emotion. Whether that was extending Jaylon Smith to send a message to Ezekiel Elliott, re-signing Elliott this season, retaining former head coach Jason Garrett for far too long, or another of other instances, fans have seen it too many times.

It's completely brutal for Cowboys fans to have to endure the whims of a billionaire desperately and flailingly trying to recapture the glory of 30 years ago with this franchise. A logical person would say that the involved emotions in decision-making have led to the 30-plus-year Super Bowl drought for a team that has been good enough to win a ring in several of those seasons. Logic may be something that Jones has long since abandoned, though.

So as of now, we don't know with certainty what's next for McCarthy and the Cowboys. What we do know by the latest reports is that Jones is at the wheel. And no matter what he decides — would anyone be truly shocked if he woke up o Monday and offered an extension... — it's difficult for any fan to have any real optimism rooted in reality that it'll work out. He's operating with his heart, not his head, and we see where we've gotten with that thus far in Dallas.