There's no plan: Troy Aikman speaks hard truth about undesirable Cowboys head coach opening

There were rumblings that the Dallas Cowboys might retain head coach Mike McCarthy for the 2025 season. Those hopes were dashed when team owner Jerry Jones released a statement on Monday to announce McCarthy’s departure.

Jones met with McCarthy to “conduct a joint review of all aspects of the past season” and discuss “the road forward for the team.” Ultimately, their discussions never even reached the point of negotiating a contract, as it “became mutually clear” for the Cowboys to part ways with McCarthy.

The Cowboys will now begin their search for the franchise’s ninth head coach. With plenty of coaching candidates still available in this year’s coaching carousel, Jones will have plenty of options to choose from.

In a survey conducted by The Athletic, five NFL assistant coaches ranked the Cowboys’ coaching vacancy as the most desirable opening this season, but one former Cowboys’ player believes the allure of the Cowboys’ coaching job might be deceptive.

Troy Aikman hints Jerry Jones is to blame for Cowboys’ failures

During ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown,” Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman expressed concern about the Cowboys’ plans while discussing the decision to part ways with McCarthy. 

“I thought Mike McCarthy would be the head coach, so this is a bit of a surprise for me today that he’s not going to be,” Aikman said. “And what went into those conversations [between Jones and McCarthy], I’m not exactly sure. But it suggests that there's not a real plan.”

Jones has built the most brand-oriented team in the league, which led to the infamous “America’s Team” moniker. Along with having the NFL’s largest fanbase, the Cowboys are the highest-valued franchise in the league. Dallas’ head coach will get plenty of media focus, and the team’s roster has the most talent among all teams with a coaching vacancy. Yet, Jones’ overbearing presence could prevent a coach from building a winning team and culture.

“As far as a coveted job, I don’t know that that’s accurate,” Aikman said. “Obviously the Cowboys are a high-profile team. Whoever is head coach of that team is certainly going to draw a lot of attention, but I think most football people that take over as a head coach, they want to do it on their terms, and that’s hard to do [in Dallas]. … I love the Dallas Cowboys, I played there for 12 years, I wish them well, but to say that it’s a coveted job, I'm not sure I would necessarily agree with that.”

Jones has a propensity for generating headlines and prioritizing revenue. His approach to contract negotiations has often put the team at a disadvantage when it comes to salary cap management and the roster-building process. Any coach could find it difficult to succeed in that environment, regardless of the team’s talent.

McCarthy’s first season in Dallas was hampered by the pandemic, but the team flourished in 2021. McCarthy led Dallas to 12 wins in each of the next three seasons, marking the franchise’s most victories in a three-year span since they won 37 games from 1992 to 1994. That success didn’t translate to the postseason, and McCarthy entered the 2024 season on an expiring contract after winning just one of his four playoff games.

It was widely believed that McCarthy would have to lead the Cowboys on a deep playoff run in 2024 to retain his job, but some have suggested that the embattled head coach was never given a fair opportunity. Dallas didn’t retain any of the team’s key free agents after the 2023 season, and the Cowboys didn’t bring in any external talent to replace the losses. Instead, Jones publicly negotiated contracts with quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, whose deals held the team’s salary cap hostage for the entirety of the offseason. A slew of injuries further thinned out the roster, and the Cowboys missed the playoffs with a 7-10 record.

“I think Mike McCarthy is an outstanding football coach,” Aikman said. “He's proven that in this league. … But you also have to empower that head coach. And that's been what has been missing in Dallas since Jimmy Johnson walked out the door.”

Former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson led the Cowboys to back-to-back Super Bowl championships in 1992 and 1993, but he left the team due to his deteriorating relationship with Jones. Since then, no Cowboys coach has been able to find sustained success.