As recently as the morning of Jan. 13, it seemed to be a “safe assumption” that Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones would sign head coach Mike McCarthy to a new contract after McCarthy worked the entire 2024 campaign in the final year of his deal. However, the Cowboys confirmed later that same day that they and McCarthy were parting ways after five seasons together.
Per a piece produced by NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated that was updated early Monday morning, it appears Jones and McCarthy weren’t as close to putting pen to paper on an agreement last week as outsiders believed.
“As I’ve heard it for a few months,” Breer explained, “the way [the contract saga] was handled didn’t sit well with McCarthy or the members of his staff looking ahead at their own uncertain futures. Then, in the days leading up to the Jan. 14 expiration of McCarthy’s contract, my understanding is that while there was discussion, there was no real negotiation.”
Jones running it back with McCarthy for at least one more year made sense earlier this month. The 61-year-old guided Dallas to 12-5 records each season from 2021-23, kept his team fighting through a noteworthy injury crisis this past fall until it was eliminated from postseason contention in Week 16 and had support from locker-room leaders such as pass-rusher Micah Parsons and quarterback Dak Prescott. Despite all of that, Jones kept McCarthy in the final campaign of his contract until the coach became available to speak with clubs such as the Chicago Bears.
“That McCarthy has only interviewed with the Bears has gotten my attention,” Breer added in Monday’s article. “Some are taking it as a signal on where he’d like to land.”
The Athletic’s Hannah Vanbiber noted this past Friday that DraftKings Sportsbook had Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as the favorite to earn the Dallas head-coaching job ahead of the weekend. Moore previously served as Prescott’s OC from 2019-22, and the two enjoyed a positive working relationship.
Per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the situation changed Monday morning when DraftKings Sportsbook listed current Cowboys OC Brian Schottenheimer as the favorite to replace McCarthy in Dallas. Schottenheimer was Dallas’ OC for the past two seasons but has never been a head coach at a top-tier level.
“Prescott wants continuity,” Florio said. “He doesn’t want to learn a new offense. If, as it appears, coach Mike McCarthy is gone simply because he and owner/G.M. Jerry Jones couldn’t agree on the length of a new deal, why not bump Schottenheimer up and keep it going?”
Breer wrote that he was “not exactly sure” Jones began Dallas’ offseason with a plan regarding the club’s head-coaching position. Jones hiring Schottenheimer this winter likely would do little to silence such takes.
