Shortly after the Dallas Cowboys responded to being eliminated from the playoffs by earning an upset 26-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7) on Sunday night, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones insisted he was “proud” of how head coach Mike McCarthy had his team ready to battle Tampa Bay with nothing but pride on the line for the hosts.
On Monday, NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic offered an update on McCarthy’s future with the Cowboys.
“He entered 2024 a lame-duck coach
on the final year of his contract, and the Cowboys were eliminated before their Week 16 game even kicked off,” Russini said about McCarthy. “But as of this morning, things are looking up for McCarthy, and the Cowboys’ Sunday night win over the Buccaneers certainly helped. Many around the league believe McCarthy is going to get a new contract from Jerry Jones.”
While the Cowboys went 12-5 each season from 2021-23 under McCarthy, it’s assumed he didn’t receive a contract extension from Jones largely because the club notched only one postseason win over that time. More recently, the Cowboys fell from 3-2 in early October to 3-7 amid an injury crisis that claimed starting quarterback Dak Prescott and other key contributors.
Few outsiders would’ve blamed Cowboys players for mailing in the final seven weeks of the campaign with Prescott and others sidelined. Instead, Dallas won three of four games to stay alive in the playoff hunt until Sunday afternoon and then improved to 7-8 by defeating the Bucs.
The Cowboys play at the 12-3 Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday before Dallas wraps things up with a home game against the Washington Commanders (10-5). During a Monday appearance on Dallas sports radio station 105.3 The Fan, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones hinted that McCarthy won’t receive a new deal before 2024 comes to an end.
“He’s doing a great job right now,” Stephen Jones said about McCarthy, per Jon Machota of The Athletic. “There are a lot of teams who would have dysfunction with their season being over. Mike has kept the group together. Not surprising. …We’ll start worrying about the future when we’re through playing the Commanders on our last football game of the year.”
McCarthy would have the right to become a free agent and explore his options if he isn’t locked down via a new deal before the conclusion of the season. Assuming Russini is correct, the Jones family may want to put pen to paper on an agreement with McCarthy before the Washington game if only to show players the franchise is committed to the coach beyond Week 18.
