Mike McCarthy could send Jerry Jones, Cowboys a devastating message this offseason

Mike McCarthy has often been the fall guy for this Dallas Cowboys team. This offseason, he could send a message back to Jerry Jones and Co. if he plays his cards right.
Dallas Cowboys v Carolina Panthers
Dallas Cowboys v Carolina Panthers / Grant Halverson/GettyImages
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The Dallas Cowboys have some tough choices to make this offseason, and that starts with the future of head coach Mike McCarthy and the rest of his staff. McCarthy and the majority of his coaching staff are out of a contract unless renewed by Dallas ownership.

The good news, it would seem, is that McCarthy and the Jones' spent much of the last few days meeting to discuss the head coach's future. The bad news is that there is no agreement to speak of just yet – but that will not stop the two sides from speaking even more.

The Cowboys lost their last game of the season to the Washington Commanders to fall to 7-10. Since then, Jones hasn't commented much on McCarthy's future – minus the usual good faith statements – while the Dallas head coach seemingly gave himself a pep talk.

"I have a lot of confidence in myself as a head coach," McCarthy said. "I think like anything, body of work, you know the statistics, I think it's more about the program, the details of what needs to get done. How can we get better? All those things go into these decisions of whether you originally get the job or continue to move forward."

Mike McCarthy can screw over the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones

That's the spirit? To complicate matters even further, the Chicago Bears forced Jones' hand by requesting an interview with McCarthy, which was not-so-promptly denied. The question now is what comes next? McCarthy becomes a free agent on Jan. 14, per Ian Rapoport. If he and the Cowboys can not agree upon his future before then, McCarthy – and several members of his coaching staff – could leave and head elsewhere, like Chicago, without Dallas in mind.

That, frankly, is the worst-case scenario for the Cowboys. If Jones thinks he can find a better head coach than McCarthy, he ought to act now rather than allow other NFL teams with openings to get a leg up. By waiting until Jan. 14, Jones signals that he believes in McCarthy, and assumes the pair can get a deal done.

What we don't know is if McCarthy agrees with that sentiment. He has little say in his future until Jan. 14, as there's a good chance he would've taken that Bears interview had Jones allowed him. McCarthy wants to keep coaching – that is the only constant in all of his vague answers and the loose reports which follow.

Were the Cowboys to allow McCarthy to reach free agency on Jan. 14 (essentially the last minute), it would signal that the 61-year-old head coach is tired of Jones' antics. For Jones, it means getting a late start on finding his next coach and their subsequent assistant coaching staff, something that is far easier said than done given the ego of the Cowboys owner.

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