Even though the Dallas Cowboys sit at 4-7 and will likely miss the playoffs, Mike McCarthy could be retained for the 2025 season.
Jerry Jones didn’t rule out the possibility that the Cowboys could extend their head coach as he’s in the final year of his contract.
“I don’t think that’s crazy at all. That’s not crazy,” the Cowboys owner said when asked in an interview with 105.3 The Fan if the team could extend McCarthy. “Listen, Mike McCarthy is an outstanding coach. … Mike McCarthy has been there, done that. He’s got great ideas.
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“So the bottom line is in no place in my body language or anything else have you seen an indication about what we’re going to be doing relative to this staff at the end of this year. And we shouldn’t. We’ve got a lot of football left.”
McCarthy has coached the Cowboys to plenty of regular-season success in his five seasons with Dallas. After Dak Prescott’s season-ending injury derailed their 2020 season, the Cowboys won 12 games in each of the next three years and won the division twice in that span.
However, the playoff failures that have lingered around the Cowboys since their last Super Bowl win in 1995 have continued during McCarthy’s tenure. They’ve won just one playoff game over the last three years, getting upset at home last season and becoming the first No. 2 seed to lose to a No. 7 in NFL history.
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The blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers in the postseason led to questions over McCarthy’s job security. Dallas opted to keep him, but didn’t extend him. So far, that move hasn’t worked out. The Cowboys were on a recent five-game losing streak as injuries have diminished Dallas’ hopes of repeating as NFC East champs.
Jones, though, is optimistic that his team can make a late push for the postseason. The Cowboys snapped their five-game losing streak with their thrilling 34-26 win at the Washington Commanders in Week 12, improving their record to 4-7. Their remaining strength of schedule is the ninth-easiest in the league. Their next four games are also against opponents with losing records, starting with Thursday’s Thanksgiving matchup against the New York Giants (4:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App).
Even with the easy schedule, though, the Cowboys’ path to the postseason is a tough hill to climb. They’re 2.5 games back of the No. 7 seed with six teams between them and the final playoff spot in the NFC. They’re four games back of the Packers, who hold the No. 6 seed.
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Still, Jones maintained that “this thing isn’t over” as he’s still focused on wins rather than potentially improving the team’s draft position, to the behest of some.
“I just think the game is too important. The win is too important,” Jones said. “You look at a coach and, boy, a coach is sitting there, don’t think they don’t add up their wins and losses during their career and they don’t like to have a loss on there if they can just ask for it.
“So my point is, for all of us, a win is a very satisfying thing under any circumstance and it helps you build.”
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