What Dallas Cowboys fans should conclude from Jerry Jones' surprising message on Mike McCarthy
Everyone should know by now that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is a master at the art of staying in everyone's minds. Even at 4-7, he knows how to keep himself and the team on the headlines. That's the true missing ingredient for every team that makes a languid attempt at stealing the "America's Team" title […]
Everyone should know by now that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is a master at the art of staying in everyone's minds. Even at 4-7, he knows how to keep himself and the team on the headlines.
That's the true missing ingredient for every team that makes a languid attempt at stealing the "America's Team" title from the Cowboys. It's not about football success on the field but about an everlasting presence on football fans' minds.
On Tuesday, a couple of days before a Thanksgiving showdown with surprisingly low ticket prices, Jones did it again by speaking on the job status of head coach Mike McCarthy.
Jones claimed on 105.3 The Fan that it wouldn't be crazy to extend McCarthy's contract after the season. The Cowboys head coach is currently working on a contract year, as well as most of the team's coaching staff, which has brought question marks about the future in Dallas long before the season even began.
Jones was asked if it'd be crazy to think McCarthy could be extended and while the Cowboys owner didn't reveal what his intentions were after 2024, he shared some praise for his head coach.
"I don’t think that’s crazy at all—that’s not crazy," Jones said on the radio. "Listen, Mike McCarthy is an outstanding coach. I was watching the game last night, and (Troy Aikman) was talking about it and he’s reiterated that several times publicly, he's a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there, done that. He’s got great ideas."
But in Jones' eyes, it's still way too early to engage in any conversations about the path the franchise will be taking in 2025.
"The bottom line is, in no way—whether in my body language or anything else—have you seen indications about what we’re going to be doing relative to this staff at the end of the year," Jones added. "And we shouldn’t. We’ve got a lot of football left to play."
What should Cowboys fans make of Jones' comments?
Naturally, a lot has been made about the Cowboys owner's thoughts. After all, many were completely expecting McCarthy to be fired after the regular season given the way the season turned out.
Here's where I've landed: It's tough to make too much of it. If Jones is asked if he's ruled out a contract extension for McCarthy, what exactly is he supposed to say? He can't say "yes." The guy is still coaching his team, for crying out loud.
However, Jones' curriculum as the Cowboys owner and general manager speaks for itself. He left Jason Garrett at the wheel for a decade. He's not exactly a risk taker in the coaching hiring aspect of things and is unlikely to bet on an up-and-coming head coach candidate such as the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson.
Additionally, the script of the 2024 season provides a train of thought to convince himself that McCarthy should be back: Injuries have been a factor, the players are showing fight in them, and the team might start to stack some wins as it gets some lay-ups in the short-term future.
Who knows? The owner could convince himself of giving the head coach that gave him three consecutive 12-win seasons in a row, something that never happened with Garrett.
Chances are, of course, not even the Joneses know exactly what they'll do right now. It's not like the Cowboys have legit playoff hopes right now but Jerry is right about there being a lot of football left to be played.
