Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has been under the microscope in 2024. Having not yet found playoff success for the league’s most popular franchise, a pressure-packed year has turned into an injury-riddled disappointment.
After Week 17’s 41-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, McCarthy was asked about his long-term fate in Dallas. At the end of his fifth year with the Cowboys, is a new adventure on the horizon?
Mike McCarthy Hints at Uncertainty With Cowboys
McCarthy gave fans the ultimate cliffhanger on his future with the $11 billion Cowboys.
After being officially knocked out of playoff contention, the head coach was asked about his potential return.
“I need to make sure I’m doing exactly what I’m asking everybody else to do, we need to finish the race,” he said. “We’ll have time to talk about that next week.”
Does #Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy want to return to Dallas?
"I need to make sure I'm doing exactly what I'm asking everybody else to do, we need to finish the race." He added, "We'll have time to talk about that next week."
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 30, 2024
Owner Jerry Jones doesn’t seem ready to commit to McCarthy for 2025. Jones discussed the team’s future on 105.3 The Fan (via ESPN), but he kept things vague when it came to McCarthy’s job status.
“It’s implied (in) every conversation we have about a position, about a player,” Jones said. “Most of the time when you’re discussing a situation on this football team, you’re talking about the future. Now the future might be the next game, or it could be next month but it’s always not so much dwelling on what happened last Sunday or what happened two weeks ago, not so much there.
“That’s a reference point and that’s what you’ve got to make a decision on. But all that counts is the next minute and going forward from there without being anyway. The future is where our decision-making is.”
McCarthy’s coaching staff has earned praise for keeping the team afloat with a 7-9 record (despite missing key players like Dak Prescott and Zack Martin). No long-term promises are being made just yet, but contract negotiations are looming.
Jones heaped some love on the team’s young talent, though, noting how the players are getting crucial experience.
Even with McCarthy navigating choppy waters, one NFL insider thinks Jones should hesitate to bring him back in 2025.
Albert Breer Examines Mike McCarthy’s Future
On Monday, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer joined Rich Eisen’s show and shed light on the Cowboys’ situation. Breer explained that while Dallas is impressed with McCarthy’s work, the coach’s contract status complicates things.
“If McCarthy still had years on his contract, they would go forward with him,” Breer said. “I think they’re that impressed with the job that he’s done. The problem is they have to draft an entirely new contract. Virtually every assistant on his staff is up, too. They would basically have to redo contracts for everyone on his staff.”
The Cowboys have faced significant injuries this season. Still, Jones’ hesitation to commit to McCarthy’s future (and his staff’s) points to the uncertainty in Dallas. He’ll have Week 18 against the Washington Commanders to make one final case to keep his job.