4 Mike McCarthy loyalists the Cowboys betrayed by letting him walk, 2 who won't be back

The Dallas Cowboys and Mike McCarthy ultimately decided not to renew his contract. While McCarthy's team ultimately did not live up to the hype, Dallas was also forced to play without Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons for long stretches. It's tough to pin the 2024 season on McCarthy given all the odds which were stacked against him.

McCarthy has already received interest from the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears, per Adam Schefter. He is likely to get a job somewhere, and Jerry Jones is taking a big risk by letting a coach as well-renowned as McCarthy go – the mystery box isn't always a better option. The Cowboys could find that out the hard way.

What makes McCarthy's exit all the more surprising is the camaraderie he formed with much of the Cowboys brass. Prescott, Lamb, Parsons and more loved him, and would've preferred to see McCarthy hang around for another season. This also means much of the Dallas coaching staff will leave as well. The Cowboys will start from square one, which isn't beneficial to a team well within their competitive window.

4. Dak Prescott has to feel betrayed by Mike McCarthy's firing

While Prescott was out the majority of the 2024 season, he threw his weight behind McCarthy and the Cowboys, routinely stating how much he trusted the veteran head coach. If Prescott is back and at full strength in 2025, there's nothing holding Dallas back from making another postseason run – or at least, there wasn't. A breach of trust can impact a team on the field, not just off of it.

"I believe in him wholeheartedly," Prescott told Yahoo! Sports' Jori Epstein in early December. "I don't want to necessarily get into the nuts and the screws of it all obviously, but I think he definitely deserves a chance -- another contract and a chance to coach this team amongst more influence. 'On his terms' may be a good way to say it. But I wholeheartedly believe in him."

Just over a month later, McCarthy is looking for another job while Prescott has to be wondering just how much weight his opinion holds. Prescott is supposed to be the face of the franchise. While he ultimately doesn't make the decisions, Jerry Jones has some explaining to do.

3. Despite disagreements, Mike Zimmer knows he's done without Mike McCarthy

Mike Zimmer threw Mike McCarthy under the bus in early January. That should've been the first sign that McCarthy was in trouble. Zimmer will likely not be retained by the Cowboys now that McCarthy has been forced out. He is a veteran former head coach on his last legs as Dallas defensive coordinator, and the experiment did not go according to plan in 2024-25.

“I wish that when I came in that I would have done everything the way I wanted it done and not kind of tried to blend things. I think that was part of the struggles at the beginning,” Zimmer said.

I've said it to some of the coaches, you come in and here was the situation: They were good last year, right?" Zimmer added. "So, I come in and I don’t want to really rock the boat. I probably wasn’t as tough as I typically am. Probably wasn’t as hard-headed about how I want to do things."

Zimmer spoke as though he knew he wouldn't be returning to the Cowboys, and he'd be right. McCarthy was the only person standing in the way. Now, Jerry Jones has every excuse not to bring back the same coaching staff.

2. Micah Parsons hashed things out with Mike McCarthy only for Cowboys to fire him

Micah Parsons postgame comments after a mid-November loss to the Philadelphia Eagles went viral for the wrong reasons. While Parsons was only trying to defend his teammates, he also casually cast aside McCarthy's accomplishments with the Green Bay Packers, and seemingly took a shot at him.

"Mike can leave and go wherever he wants," Parsons said, via Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports. "Guys I kind of feel bad for [are] guys like Zack Martin and guys who might be on their last year or on their way out. Because that's who I wanted to hold the trophy for. You want to win games and do great things with those type of legends who put in more time and work than Mike McCarthy ever did."

To be fair to Parsons, McCarthy has been coaching for a long time. He likely doesn't even remember those Green Bay Packers teams.

"I was in middle school, elementary school when Mike McCarthy was with the Packers, and I have no reference to that. So, when I'm talking about here Dallas Cowboys and what was accomplished the most, I'm thinking about the guys, and I've only ever been here. So obviously no disrespect to (McCarthy's) career and what he's made for himself as one of the most winningest coaches," Parsons said the next week.

The two apparently hashed things out at practice, with Parsons saying he loves McCarthy and never meant to throw shade at his head coach. Parsons is always going to be about the Cowboys players first, which surely McCarthy can understand. However, Parsons probably could've made that statement without undermining McCarthy's authority,

Either way, Parsons put a lot of effort into rebuilding that relationship. Now, McCarthy walked out the front door just as Parsons is entering a contract year. Could he be next?

1. Al Harris has defensive coordinator potential, but not with the Cowboys

While the Cowboys defense wasn't the same under Zimmer – and the secondary took a step back as well under his leadership – much of what Dallas did accomplish in the defensive backfield is thanks to Al Harris, the defensive backs coach. Harris was in the mix to replace Dan Quinn just last offseason, but was ultimately passed over in favor of the more senior Zimmer.

Harris played under McCarthy and is as loyal as they come to him. Wherever McCarthy does go, there's a good chance Harris could be poached from the Cowboys coaching staff. It was somewhat surprising Harris didn't join Quinn in Washington when the Commanders hired him last offseason, but clearly coaching under McCarthy held him back.

With McCarthy likely not returning to Dallas, there is little reason for Harris to stay, especially with his resume. From 2020 through the end of the 2023-24 season, the Cowboys led the league in turnovers forced with 116. While they took a slight step back this year, Harris has what it takes to lead a defense of his own. Now, there is nothing holding him back.