Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is entering the final year of his contract on the hot seat. McCarthy’s perceived lack of power as a “lame duck” appears to be gnawing at him a bit.
McCarthy’s job status was a major headline after the Cowboys were upset at home by the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round. There were rumors the Cowboys could fire McCarthy and try to hire former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. In fact, many think Belichick has a chance to take over the job in 2025.
However, the Cowboys have decided to let McCarthy ride out the 2024 season to prove his worth for a new contract. The team currently has McCarthy, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons heading into the “all-in” season on the last year of their contracts.
The Dallas Cowboys are urged to give their HC another year
McCarthy’s contract situation can affect the Cowboys’ locker room more than having a player operating in the final year of their deal. Tyler Dunne with Go Long talked to several sources who think the Cowboys are making a mistake by letting McCarthy coach on the last year of his contract:
“At least give him a one-year extension,” says a former Cowboys personnel man. “You may not have to give him another five years, but at least extend them out one year and extend out all the coaches one year to give them a level of security.”
Players on the roster need to know the coaching staff can keep them accountable because management has the staff’s back. Currently, Dunne notes, the players are more worried about ownership:
Multiple people high up in the organization indicate that current players are more concerned about Jerry Jones than their own head coach. They know ownership can undermine the head coach at any moment.
“So that means you can get a talented team like they’ve had,” this personnel source says, “but they’re going to underachieve when the coaches can’t influence the players the way they need to.”
One would imagine a coach wouldn’t like being put in a losing situation here. McCarthy has to get his players to buy into his program to succeed and keep his job. But the players aren’t buying in because it’s not McCarthy’s show.
McCarthy is getting “fed up”
A source told Dunne that McCarthy is getting tired of the situation:
“[McCarthy’s] doing it the best he can,” the former Cowboys personnel man says. “Some of the people I’ve talked to have said that he’s getting fed up with it a little bit.
“It’s hard. I feel bad for Dak. I think Dak’s a really good quarterback who is capable of taking a team to the Super Bowl. He’s got to overcome a lot of things.”
What would a potential McCarthy replacement, like Belichick, make of that?
