As the first week of the NFL playoffs starts this weekend, the Dallas Cowboys are going to be spending it trying to figure out what the future holds for 2025 and beyond.
A lot of fans have voiced their thoughts on social media about the current situation with head coach Mike McCarthy and the way Jerry Jones is going about handling it, myself included. Check out my Twitter here.
With that said, I think the saying beggars can’t be choosers is perfect for all us Cowboy fans right now.
I don’t want Mike McCarthy back in Dallas on a one year deal.
I would prefer they move onto a younger coach (Liam Coen, Joe Brady, Ben Johnson).
But if McCarthy does come back, give him a 3-year deal and give him time.
No more lame-duck coaches.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) January 8, 2025
This starts at the top with Jerry Jones, but at what cost? We beg Jerry year after year to do something, yet we picked this team to root for.
Let me dive into a few pro and cons of Mike McCarthy either returning as the head coach or getting let go. Take a look below.
PROS
Okay, so here is the thing: I wanted to go over my OWN thoughts about either keeping or finally moving on from Mike McCarthy. Listen, these are my thoughts, if you don’t agree or what to add something, add a comment. No need to call me an idiot or anything else.
The first big pro of keeping him is that the offense won’t have to learn something brand new again, McCarthy has ran his offense since Kellen Moore left two years ago, and outside of the injuries this year, it worked well in 2023.
.@ColinCowherd thinks the Cowboys are working on an extension with Mike McCarthy after denying interview request with Bears…
"We can take jabs at Jerry Jones, but I think it's a smart move." pic.twitter.com/OGZ8e3xXxm
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) January 8, 2025
Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb had the best years of their career, and if you hang onto him you won’t need to hire a new head coach or offensive coordinator.
I really think the players like him a lot, and want to play hard for him. That showed late in the season when they still had a chance at the playoffs, and even after like against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
CONS
The cons are the fact that Mike McCarthy hasn’t won more than one playoff game in a single season.
Sure, say what you want, Dak Prescott, blah blah, yeah, it is all him when this team has not been to a conference title game since before the turn of the century.
A con is that this team will continue to be undisputed at times, and they will come out flat in games that they need to win.
"By waiting until the last minute [to re-sign McCarthy], the message you send is, I'm looking for anything else, anybody else." @JasonMcCourty and @Hawk on Mike McCarthy's tenure in Dallas 👀 pic.twitter.com/SLwEoAHibz
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 8, 2025
It happens every single year. Another one is that while the Cowboys stay older, everyone around the league will get younger. A younger head coach like Ben Johnson would be the way to go.
I feel like making Mike McCarthy wait this long to know his future and not allowing him to interview with the Bears is a bad sign.
This could really mess with the relationship between not only Mike and Jerry, but the rest of the players.
Jerry Jones is playing games with everyone and it has become a joke.
“Jerry blocking him from interviewing, to me, definitively says he’s coming back to the Cowboys.”
— @getnickwright on Mike McCarthy pic.twitter.com/xkxIJpnYBC
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) January 8, 2025
My Side
At this point just bring him back. Did I want him to go after the loss in the playoffs a year ago? Yes.
I would still rather have a new face in the building, but at this point, stop with all the games.
You did not allow the Bears to interview him, and now you are playing with another mans job, I want this more for Mike now than Jerry.
I still think the offense would benefit if he came back, that way they would not have to learn an entirely new system, yet a part of me wants to be able to trust the coach in the red zone and down the stretch. Big Mike has made that tough over the years.
We will see what happens over the next week or so, but this situation got real ugly in a hurry.
