Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has spent the season insisting he wouldn't make a midseason coaching change. Following Sunday's win over Washington, he's going the opposite way, suggesting he could extend Mike McCarthy's contract after the season.
"I don't think that's crazy at all." Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. "That's not crazy. Listen, Mike McCarthy is an outstanding coach. … This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there, done that, he's got great ideas. Bottom line is, there's no place in my body language or anything else that you've seen indications about what we're going to be doing relative to this staff at the end of this year. And we shouldn't. We've got a lot of football left."
McCarthy won a Super Bowl in 2010 with the Green Bay Packers. In five seasons with the Cowboys, he's gone 1-3 in the postseason. Dallas has generated three consecutive 12-5 seasons under McCarthy. With the Cowboys sitting at 4-7 before Thanksgiving, that streak will end in 2024.
"I really haven't talked about it all year," McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday when asked about Jones' comments. "So definitely not going to start on a short week in an important division game. I'm not going to throw away positive vibes either, so keep 'em coming. But that's not something that I'm really focused on."
Sunday's wild win in D.C. snapped a five-game losing streak, during which McCarthy seemed doomed to be done in Dallas. With McCarthy playing out the final year of his contract, Jones wouldn't have to fire the coach.
Asked about McCarthy's future repeatedly this season, Jones has resisted declarative statements, only rebuffing any calls for an in-season move. With the Cowboys facing four clubs currently sitting under .500 in the next four weeks, it could be a chance to plow back into the playoff periphery.
Jones' comments about a potential extension for McCarthy are sure to agitate a hornet's nest among Cowboys fans, who have focused much of their ire on the coach.
Before any of this talk continues, McCarthy's club needs to handle business against the spiraling New York Giants on Thanksgiving. A stubbed toe in front of a national audience could clinch McCarthy's future.
