FRISCO, Texas -- The National Football League at large is a "what have you done for me lately?" type of business, especially for its coaches.
Even though Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy helped guide America's Team to three consecutive 12-win seasons from 2021 to 2023, owner and general manager Jerry Jones decided to turn up the heat on McCarthy and his staff in 2024. The decision to have them coach out the final year of their five-year coaching contracts came after Dallas' 48-32 faceplant against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC wild-card round last January. Jones said, "We all have Green Bay on our mind," after the Cowboys' 2024 preseason finale when asked why McCarthy's expiring contract hadn't yet been addressed. Jones also said that "angst, pressure, competing" will bring out the best from his coaches and players.
However, Jones changed his tune for the better regarding McCarthy's future in Dallas on Tuesday following the Cowboys' 34-26 upset win over the Washington Commanders that ran their record to 4-7 and snapped a five-game losing streak.
"I don't think that's crazy at all," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan when asked about possibly re-signing McCarthy for 2025 and beyond, via The Athletic. "This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there and done that. He has great ideas. We got a lot of football left."
McCarthy claimed Tuesday afternoon that he hasn't consciously thought about his contract status, but he's open to positive speculation and/or vibes about his future.
"I really haven't talked about all year and I'm definitely not going to start on a short week on an important division game," McCarthy said Tuesday. "I'm not going to throw away positive vibes, either. Keep them coming, its all good. That's not something I'm really focused on."
To be fair to McCarthy, much of what has transpired has been the result of injury woes or poor depth after an inactive free agency period. Quarterback Dak Prescott is out for the year with a hamstring injury, four-time Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence has been out since Week 4, cornerback DaRon Bland made his 2024 season debut in Week 12 after suffering a foot stress fracture, and three-time All-Pro Micah Parsons missed four games with a high ankle strain, just to name a few of the many injuries.
"As a staff, this is very challenging," McCarthy said. "As we've talked as a staff, we'll be better coaches because of this experience. I believe that. I've experienced it in the past. That's what this league's about. It's not about players getting injured. It's really when and who, the timing of it, getting the young guys ready to play as fast as possible. You have different levels of that each and every year. If you're going to coach in this league, you have to be able to coach through these times. I know all of us will be better for this experience."
Despite the rollercoaster nature of the Cowboys 2024 season, McCarthy still possesses the buy-in from key locker room leaders. That's not nothing considering their Thanksgiving Day opponent, the New York Giants, had multiple players, namely wide receiver Malik Nabers and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, use the word "soft" to describe the state of their team. Nabers also specifically critiqued head coach Brian Daboll's play-calling.
"He's a player's coach," Cowboys All-Pro CeeDee Lamb said of McCarthy on Tuesday. "We all love him, everything that he does for the team and as far as leading us, just having the confidence and everything that he's willing to put on a lot for us, we love every bit of it. So as for Jerry and all those situations, that ain't got nothing to do with me. Don't try to put me in it, but we, I love Mike, that's for sure."
"We knew the type of talent that we had in this room, and we knew the type that we just need to hunker down and understand where we need to go as a team, especially on defense," Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis said Tuesday. "We just kept grinding, and we believed in it (defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's scheme). ... The way we played last week, I would believe all of us do (believe in the coaching staff). I've never wavered, my confidence (in the coaching staff) never wavered."
