Cowboys’ Jones praises McCarthy, won’t commit to future role

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys season ended with a 23-19 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday, and now comes the challenging part.

Will owner and general manager Jerry Jones keep Mike McCarthy, whose contract expires Wednesday, or begin a search for his ninth head coach since he bought the team in 1989?

For more than 40 minutes, Jones spoke to the media outside the locker room and spoke glowingly of McCarthy, but he never fully committed to him for 2025 and beyond.

“I don’t know that I’m thinking about making a change, is really what I’m trying to say,” Jones said.

McCarthy has posted a 49-35 regular-season record with the Cowboys, but is 1-3 in the playoffs, has not advanced past the divisional round and suffered two of the more painful home postseason losses in franchise history.

The Cowboys’ Super Bowl drought now stands at 29 seasons.

“Mike is one of the best coaches I think there is,” Jones said. “He was made coach here because I believed that and he has done absolutely nothing to diminish my opinion of him as a coach.”

McCarthy removed any doubt about his wishes. He wants to return to the Cowboys, despite a number of jobs currently open and others that could open soon.

“Absolutely. I’ve invested a lot here. And the Cowboys have invested a lot in me,” McCarthy said. “And then there’s a personal side to all of these decisions. They’re all pointing in the right direction. I think anytime you invest your time, your energy, your faith, the connection you have, the relationships that are in place here, the understanding of what the organization can and is willing to do, these are all positive attributes that you take into account.

“But you know, absolutely, I’m a builder. I believe in building programs. I believe in developing young players. So at the end of the day it’s about winning and you have to have those components in place to get this one thing where it needs to be, I think we have a very good foundation here.”

McCarthy’s 174 wins are 13th all-time in NFL history.

“I don’t like to talk about myself like that, but I just want to be clear: I’m a winner. I know how to win,” he said. “I’ve won a championship. I won a championship in this building and that’s who I am. We’ll see where it goes.”

Jones offered no timeline for a decision, other than to say he follows the past when he makes coaching changes. McCarthy was chosen as Jason Garrett’s successor 10 days after the 2019 season ended.

The Cowboys have exclusive negotiating rights to McCarthy through Jan. 14. Jones appeared to indicate he would give McCarthy permission to talk to other teams if requests come.

McCarthy expects to meet with Jerry and Stephen Jones, the executive vice president, this week. Typically, he holds an exit meeting with all the players, starting on Monday.

To date, there have been no discussions with McCarthy’s agent, Don Yee, about an extension.

“It’s a given that I’ve decided if we’re going to sit down and talk about a deal,” Jerry Jones said.

After directing the Cowboys to the playoffs from 2021 to 2023 with three straight 12-5 finishes, McCarthy and his entire coaching staff entered 2024 on the final years of their contracts. The Cowboys struggled offensively and defensively early in the season, then were hit by injuries that led to a five-game losing streak.

The Cowboys finished the season with players on injured reserve accounting for nearly $90 million in salary cap space in quarterback Dak Prescott, guard Zack Martin, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, cornerback Trevon Diggs and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb.

Jones said the coaching decision would not be based solely on the results of this season, but a five-year outlook. And he took the blame for the composition of the guard that fell short this season.

“It’s very fair. I always provide the roster for the coaches. And then if you don’t get there, you always have something else to second guess,” Jones said. “We make a lot of decisions. Some of them don’t work as well as others.”

Jones was impressed with how the Cowboys played after all the injuries. They won four of five games to stay in the playoffs until Week 16. Key players like Prescott and Micah Parsons have supported McCarthy’s return, which Jones said was important.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Jones said, “but certainly we’re all looking for ways to get better.”