One coach who's remained on the hot seat throughout the 2024 season is Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy.
The Cowboys have had a rollercoaster of a year from losing five games in a row to quarterback Dak Prescott suffering a season-ending hamstring injury. Through this all, most of the Cowboys players and owner Jerry Jones seemingly remain supportive of McCarthy staying with the Cowboys.
However, McCarthy's future in Dallas ultimately isn't up to whether or not his players respect him as a coach. Prescott feels this pain as he admitted he fully supports his coach, but knows he doesn't have a say on McCarthy's future at the end of the day, especially as he misses time due to injury.
“Your coach seems like he's playing on his last contract and [I’m] almost feeling helpless like I can’t help him in this situation, especially a guy you believe in so much and you believe in being your head coach,” Prescott told Yahoo! Sports's Jori Epstein. “Control what I can control, help and support Mike to every extent that I can.”
One reason McCarthy's future is up in the air is because his contract expires after this season. Prescott would love to see the coach return on a new contract.
“I believe in him wholeheartedly,” Prescott said. “I don't want to necessarily get into the nuts and the screws of it all obviously, but I think he definitely deserves a chance—another contract and a chance to coach this team amongst more influence. ‘On his terms’ may be a good way to say it. But I wholeheartedly believe in him."
Jones recently revealed that it would not be "crazy at all" to sign McCarthy to a new contract. McCarthy responded to this comment by saying his contract isn't something he's really focused on during the season.
We'll see how it turns out for McCarthy when the 2024 season ends for the 5–7 Cowboys, but having the franchise quarterback on your side definitely helps.
