Mike McCarthy's future with Cowboys may not be decided by Jerry Jones

The Dallas Cowboys’ devastating playoff loss sent them into a tumultuous offseason. Overdue contract extensions for several star players dragged into training camp and kept the team from retaining or acquiring talent in free agency. Although quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb received lucrative new deals, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy entered the 2024 season on an expiring contract. 

It was widely believed that McCarthy would have to lead the team to a deep postseason run in order to retain his role with the team. Instead, the team’s poor offseason proved too costly to overcome. The Cowboys’ failure to retain their talent in free agency was compounded with season-ending injuries to several Pro Bowl players, including Prescott.

The Cowboys were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in Week 16, and questions about McCarthy’s future have taken center stage. 

Mike McCarthy could choose to leave Cowboys

Recent reports have indicated that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will keep McCarthy as head coach, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter suggested it might not be Jones’ decision to make. 

“It goes both ways,” Schefter said. “Number one, Jerry Jones is going to have to decide [he] wants to renew him. And Mike McCarthy has the ability to go talk to whoever he wants about a head coaching job. So he can go listen to the New Orleans Saints, where he’s coached before, if they want to talk to him. He can go listen to the New York Jets. He can go listen to any team that has an opening that wants to go talk to Mike McCarthy. So it goes both ways.”

Despite the Cowboys’ disappointing season, there has been some support for McCarthy from those who believe he wasn’t given a fair chance to compete this season. The 18-year head coach was put in a difficult position by an offseason of contract disputes, holdouts, poor salary cap management, significant roster turnover and off-field distractions. 

It’s entirely plausible to believe McCarthy would prefer coaching for a franchise that offers more support and control than Jones’ Cowboys, but there are few coaching vacancies that would offer as much talent as Dallas has on their roster. 

“And by the way, they’ve talked about what a great job he’s done, and people say he saved his job,” Schefter added. “I think he’s absolutely proven himself to a certain extent but the fact of the matter is Jerry Jones has not given him an extension, he’s not done anything like that just yet. So this has played on, which tells me, that Jerry is interested in Mike, but Jerry probably also is reviewing his options.”

The Cowboys managed to climb above .500 in Week 5, but their winning record was short-lived. Dallas fell below .500 in Week 8 and never recovered, partially due to Prescott’s season-ending injury the following week. 

Although the Cowboys will finish with fewer than 10 wins in 2024, McCarthy led the team to three consecutive 12-win seasons, and he has nearly led the injury-riddled roster back to .500 this year. Even after finding out they were eliminated from playoff contention, the team earned a hard-fought victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16. Still, he’s struggled to find that same success in the postseason. 

At this point, it’s becoming evident that another offseason of uncertainty awaits the Dallas Cowboys.