Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took to the airwaves Tuesday for his weekly radio interview on 105.3 The Fan. His mood was obviously more upbeat than it has been over the last month and a half as Dallas was able to snap their five-game losing streak that wrapped around their bye week, with a 34-26 victory over rival Washington.
Among the several topics discussed was the future of Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. It’s widely assumed McCarthy, who is on the last year of his five-year contract, is a dead man walking; finishing out the contract before a new coach is recruited and the direction of the organization changes once again. But the mercurial owner certainly knows how to keep a story alive as he hinted that McCarthy could see an extension this coming offseason.
McCarthy resumed his coaching career in Dallas after being fired by the Packers, winning six games during the pandemic and dealt with injuries to many players including quarterback Dak Prescott. He entered the 2024 season with three straight 12-win seasons, but has failed to get past the divisional round of the playoffs in any of those campaigns.
This year, McCarthy’s offense has sputtered and any questions about him giving up play-calling were met with a swift and stout rebuttal.
Despite the down year, any thoughts of landing a top-10 draft pick by tanking the remainder of the season will have to wait as the owner still has hopes of making the playoffs.
Despite employing numerous All-Pro players along the offensive line during his tenure, the Cowboys run game has gradually fizzled and all the pressure was placed on quarterback Dak Prescott; similar to how McCarthy’s 13-year tenure in Green Bay with future Hall of Fame QB Aaron Rodgers ended.
A renewed run game along with more modern philosophies on both sides of the ball are theories a new coach could bring to Dallas in order to replace the short passing game meant to supplement the run in McCarthy’s Texas version of his West Coast offense.
While McCarthy will do everything he can to retain his current job, Cowboys fans may not be ready to endure another season of the Pittsburgh native and appear ready to move on to a more modern approach.