Jerry Jones was about to hire unbelievable Mike McCarthy replacement before being talked off ledge
- After a frustrating postseason exit, Mike McCarthy wasn't fired by the Cowboys
- McCarthy was going to be fired but someone talked Jones out of making that call
- Jerry Jones reportedly looked at a recent former player to fill his seat
By Josh Wilson
Mike McCarthy is safe... for now. The Dallas Cowboys head coach and his team put forth an embarrassing postseason performance against the Green Bay Packers. A game that looked like Jordan Love's and Green Bay's from the jump bounced the Cowboys, a Super Bowl competitor, out of the NFL Playoffs before the Divisional Round even started.
Yet another year without a playoff win for McCarthy, who now has just one with Dallas since joining the team as head coach in 2020.
Apparently, Jerry Jones has a former player in mind to potentially replace him, and was close to doing so after this year's postseason exit.
Jerry Jones was looking at Jason Witten as head coaching candidate
Charlie Campbell posted a notes column after gathering intel at the Senior Bowl. Campbell, known a bit more for his draft insider savvy, had several tidbits in his column on broader NFL happenings, among them the Cowboys coaching situation.
Campbell confirms that, unsurprisingly, McCarthy's seat will be hot in 2024. That's no shock.
What is a shock is that Jones was, according to Campbell, close to firing McCarthy, and was talked out of such a decision. Who talked him out of it is anyone's guess at this point, but fans won't be happy to hear that since there's been widespread belief McCarthy is not the right man for the job after this most recent playoff blunder.
Even more shocking is who he was zeroing in on: Jason Witten, former Cowboys tight end.
Campbell says Jones is, "extremely fond of," Witten, who is coaching high school football in Texas and has turned down both collegiate and NFL coaching opportunities, according to Campbell.
It's not known where those opportunities came from. If it was Witten not wanting to leave Texas, well, the Cowboys certainly have a leg up there.
There is certainly billowing smoke around Bill Belichick joining Dallas in the future. Now, Witten joins that conversation. It is starting to look like Super Bowl or bust for McCarthy in 2024.
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