Cowboys fans may be experiencing some déjà vu right now. For the second consecutive January, we’re in the dark about whether Jerry Jones will bring back Head Coach Mike McCarthy after a disappointing season.
Fans were livid with McCarthy after the terrible postseason loss to Green Bay last January. Despite that, Jones gave him the 2024 season to finish out his contract.
That season is now over, and the Cowboys are the last team remaining that hasn’t decided their path at head coach. Across the league, teams have either started their search for a new leader or have made statements confirming their incumbents’ return.
Where is Dallas in all of this, and where do things stand for McCarthy?
That’s what we’re here to discuss. After an interview request denial and countless vague Jerry Jones quotes, are the signs pointing toward a new Cowboys coach or a return for Mike McCarthy?
What Does The Bears Situation Tell Us?
On January 6th, the Chicago Bears sought permission from the Cowboys to interview McCarthy for their head coaching vacancy. It had been rumored for weeks that he would be a top candidate for them, and that move confirmed those suspicions.
Usually, these requests are answered quickly, but as always, Dallas is far from the norm. They took nearly two days to reply to Chicago, before ultimately denying the request.
ESPN Source: The Dallas Cowboys denied permission to the Chicago Bears to interview their head coach Mike McCarthy.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 8, 2025
This response by the Cowboys was very telling of their plans. It likely means they plan on retaining McCarthy and don’t want him seeing other suitors as a result.
Other, less realistic possibilities are that they haven’t decided yet and want to lock down their choice before letting him interview elsewhere, or that they don’t plan on bringing him back and denied him the Bears route out of spite.
After reading those two alternative conclusions, you can see why an extension in Dallas is the most plausible right now.
There is another question that arises from this: if the signs are pointing toward a reunion, why have we still not heard an official decision from the Cowboys? What is taking so long?
What’s The Hold Up In Dallas?
Simply put, the Cowboys are putting themselves behind the rest of the NFL once again. Out of 32 teams, they are the only ones mulling a decision like this, and it hurts them no matter how you frame it.
If Jones decides that Mike McCarthy has had his chance, or if they are unable to come to terms on an extension, they will enter the head coaching fray nearly a week after everybody else.
There are now 6 NFL coaching vacancies:
Bears
Jaguars
Jets
Patriots
Raiders
SaintsThe Cowboys loom as another team with a coaching situation to watch given Mike McCarthy's contract status.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 7, 2025
Candidates will have been interviewed, finalist lists will have been made, and the Cowboys will just be getting started.
If an agreement is made, and the two sides are together for the future, the delay will make it harder to fill out the coaching staff if changes need to be made. Either way, it’s time to speed this thing up.
Earlier this morning, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Jones and McCarthy met on both Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the future. Hopefully, something comes out of those discussions, and fast.
The Bottom Line: Mike McCarthy’s Future Is Imminent
It likely won’t be longer than a few days before we know what the future holds for Mike McCarthy. With him and Jones discussing, and other teams moving fast in their candidate search, the dust should settle shortly.
The crowd that doesn’t want him back may hate to hear this, but the signs are pointing toward his return; though that doesn’t mean it’s certain.
If there was no snag, consideration of other candidates, or issues this thing would have been solved a long time ago. All it takes for McCarthy to leave is a slight change in the odds, and we all know that can happen.
Right now, hours seem like days, so it may feel like we’re waiting forever, but this situation is close to a resolution. What comes after that could become the fun part.
clearly they now look like they have no clue what they are doing. Do we have a control battle going on internally. I mean leaving 28 players and 33 coaches up in the air does not appear to be a captain in control of their ship right now.. Normally I would strike it up to drama but this would be excessive even for jones
This article is based on the silly notion that a complex multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract regarding the most valuable sports franchise in the world requires only a simple yes/no decision. There are lots of details to work out about length of contract, control of various aspects of the team, amount of money, and many other things.
“If there was no snag, consideration of other candidates, or issues this thing would have been solved a long time ago.”
There are issues. Of course there are issues. And they will be dealt with. This is the first week that either the general manager or the coach could spend a few days working those issues out.
The Cowboys are not “putting themselves behind the rest of the NFL.” They just aren’t.
I may be missing something. If Jones gave him “2024” to let him “play out his contract”, how can they deny him the opportunity to talk with other teams? Is he still under a contract or not?
Good question. He is still under contract until January 14.
Jerry Jones, like he did with Dak and CeeDee, will drag this out for maximum drama. Will Big Mac be back, in Dallas, or move to different, greener pastures? When it comes to the Cowboys brain trust, who knows?
Conventional wisdom points toward a total gutting of the coaching staff, sans a few key performers such as Al Harris, and MAYBE John Fassel. Dragging this thing out ultimately only hurts the team.
This serves to give Mac more leverage in negotiations: way more control over team ops, with zero interference from JJ for starters.
Yeah, right. JJ will never relinquish control. He needs a HC he can control, SB appearance ( or maybe even a SB win?) be damned.