The Dallas Cowboys might not need a new head coach after all.
Owner Jerry Jones, in a radio interview with 105.3 The FAN, said that head coach Mike McCarthy could receive a contract extension despite the team's 4-7 record.
"I don't think that's crazy at all. That's not crazy," Jones said via 105.3 The FAN. "... This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there and done that. He has great ideas. Bottom line is that in no place 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 this year -- and we shouldn’t. We’ve got a lot of football left. … Six football games, that’s a lifetime.”
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McCarthy is in his fifth season in Dallas with his contract set to expire at the end of the year. He went 6-10 in 2020 before three consecutive 12-5 campaigns, though those three playoff trips ended with just one combined victory.
Everything has fallen apart in 2024, with the team sitting at 4-7 and without injured quarterback Dak Prescott. Dallas heads into its Thanksgiving game against the rival New York Giants with a 0.7% chance of making the postseason (via ESPN).
Jones has given McCarthy a long leash so far, just as he did with Jason Garrett before him. The now-NBC analyst spent nine-plus seasons as Dallas' head coach from 2010 to 2019 and won just two playoff games in three appearances.
If the team does move on from McCarthy, a number of intriguing options could pursue the Cowboys job -- including Bill Belichick, Mike Vrabel or Ben Johnson.
The Cowboys will finish the season with games against the Giants, Bengals, Panthers, Buccaneers, Eagles and Commanders before McCarthy's fate is ultimately decided.
