New head coach? Cowboys preparing for possibility Mike McCarthy leaves team

Maybe the question isn't whether Dallas will fire McCarthy, but whether McCarthy will choose to leave Dallas.
Dallas Cowboys v Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Cowboys v Philadelphia Eagles / Emilee Chinn/GettyImages
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Entering the 2024 season, the question on most people's minds was whether, or when, the Dallas Cowboys would opt to move on from head coach Mike McCarthy. Would Jerry Jones make a move in the middle of the season, or would he simply allow his embattled head coach's contract to retire in January? Either way, a miraculous playoff run — the kind that's eluded McCarthy throughout his tenure in Dallas — seemed to be the only way for McCarthy to hold on to the job.

Suffice to say, that playoff run isn't in the cards. In fact, it was on life support by September, and evaporated completely two months ago, when Dak Prescott's season was cut short by a hamstring tear in Week 9. If this was a make-or-break year for McCarthy and the Cowboys, the last chance to finally break through and win big, it's hard to imagine things going any worse.

And yet, entering the season's final week, it's somehow McCarthy who seems to have the upper hand here. Despite Cowboys owner Jerry Jones delivering several votes of confidence no matter how bad things got on the field, the question has become less "when will Dallas fire McCarthy?" and more "will McCarthy decide he's done with Dallas?"

Cowboys preparing for possibility Mike McCarthy leaves Dallas for another job

In recent days, more and more reports have surfaced linking McCarthy to a variety of jobs around the league, from the Chicago Bears to the New Orleans Saints. And that appears to be much more than just idle chatter: According to a report from The Athletic's Dianna Russini, the Cowboys "are already doing their homework on potential head coaches, just in case" McCarthy decides he'd rather be elsewhere.

McCarthy's contract doesn't expire until Jan. 14, meaning Dallas will have more than a week after the team's season ends to make a decision on its head coach — while retaining the right to deny McCarthy the chance to speak to any other teams that might be interested. Once the 14th arrives, though, McCarthy is a free agent, and he can speak with whoever he wants whenever he wants. It remains to be seen whether teams will be willing to wait that long on the off chance that McCarthy really does want to move on from Dallas. The Cowboys doing their due diligence, however, suggests that they're at least a little nervous about the possibility.

Of course, if Jones were smart, he'd let McCarthy be someone else's problem; his offense had regressed even before Prescott went down, and at this point, a change of scenery might be the best thing for all involved. But you'd think that if the Cowboys wanted to make a move, they'd have done it already. The fact that McCarthy is still around suggests that Jones is at least interested in a new deal, although McCarthy might decide it's not worth the headache.

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