Old Jerry Jones quote automatically gives Cowboys' Mike McCarthy night sweats when it comes to the future of his job
With the Dallas Cowboys season reaching a breaking point, the conversations around America's Team have shifted from playoff chances and power rankings to the future, as fans turn to NFL Draft content and questions about who could be in front of the team in 2025.That puts head coach Mike McCarthy right under the microscope as […]
With the Dallas Cowboys season reaching a breaking point, the conversations around America's Team have shifted from playoff chances and power rankings to the future, as fans turn to NFL Draft content and questions about who could be in front of the team in 2025.
That puts head coach Mike McCarthy right under the microscope as his seat keeps getting warmer and warmer. He entered the season on a contract year and at 3-5 and with frustration reaching tablet-smashing heights, the NFL world has its eyes set in Dallas as a prime candidate to be the next team to move on from its leader of men.
According to Jerry Jones, however, McCarthy isn't at risk. He told reporters postgame that he was comfortable with the Cowboys coach and that he liked the positives he saw.
"He’s really good with the players," Jones said via The Athletic's Jon Machota. "They think highly of him. He’s got a lot of fire in his belly. So, I’m just giving you this, I like the positives I see. And by the way, frankly, some of the best coaches I’ve been around, I got to see them when times were bad.”
Take Jerry's endorsement with a grain of salt. As A to Z Sports' colleague Skywalker Steele pointed out on Twitter/X, it isn't the first time Jones has praise for a head coach he's about to move on from.
"Jason Garrett's a good coach, let's start right there," Jones said in 2019, one month before Garrett coached his last game as the Cowboys HC. "He's one of the smartest and one of the hardest-working coaches… He knows this team better than anybody (…) I'm glad to have him, he is the guy for the job."
Considering the Cowboys framed this as a do-or-die kind of year for McCarthy, at 3-5, it appears parting ways with the former Super Bowl champion is a matter of when and not if. Right now, any praise for the head coach coming from the Jones family is rendered irrelevant by their actions.
They refused to extend McCarthy's deal beyond 2024, they signed defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to a one-year deal, and spent the least money in free agency out of any other NFL team. This team was never quite built for the future. When Jones said he was going "all in," as we've learned by now, he meant it was a now or never kind of approach for many, mainly the coaching staff.
With Dak Prescott likely headed to Injured Reserve and a tough schedule ahead, McCarthy is a longshot to flip the narrative on its head. With that being said, the Cowboys don't usually fire coaches midseason. Will they chance their approach with Mike?
