The Dallas Cowboys are moving on from Mike McCarthy as head coach

Mike McCarthy’s tenure with the Cowboys is over.

Owner Jerry Jones has made the decision to move forward, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said Dallas Morning News.

After a disappointing 7-10 season that came down to a referendum on the work done by McCarthy and his staff and the approach Jones and his son, Stephen, took in building this team, the club now begins its search for the 10th head coach in franchise history.

“I don’t like to talk about myself like this, but I’m a winner,” McCarthy said after the team lost to Washington in the regular season finale. “I know how to win. I’ve won a championship. I’ve won a championship in this stadium.

“This is who I am and we’ll see where it ends.”

The Cowboys compiled a 49-35 record in McCarthy’s five seasons. Tom Landry and Jason Garrett are the only coaches in franchise history with more wins.

After a rough start to its inaugural season, one accomplished in a pandemic along with the loss of starting quarterback Dak Prescott to a broken leg in Week 5, Dallas showed signs of improvement late, capping a 6-10 season with three wins in the final four weeks .

Dallas then took off, recording three consecutive 12-5 seasons under McCarthy and advancing to the postseason in three straight years for the first time since the franchise’s Super Bowl run in the 1990s. The Cowboys have won the NFC East twice during his tenure.

However, McCarthy has been unable to lead the team past the divisional round, a ceiling that has limited the club for 29 years. He has a 1-3 playoff record, seeing his team lose in the playoffs twice to San Francisco followed by a crushing loss at AT&T Stadium to Green Bay to end the 2023 season.

The Cowboys’ one postseason win during his tenure was over Tampa Bay in Tom Brady’s final game.

Kellen Moore served as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator and play caller in McCarthy’s first three seasons. But McCarthy decided to take on those duties two years ago, leading to Moore’s departure.

Prescott made no secret of his initial disappointment. But he has grown close to McCarthy and embraced the changes in the offense. A quarterback tied for the NFL lead in interceptions two years ago responded by leading the league in touchdown passes last season under McCarthy before this season was cut short by injury.

Moore is a creative play calling. But McCarthy, with his experience, connected the offense for Prescott in a way that Moore did not. The receivers, backs and linemen were asked to see the play through Prescott’s eyes and given film clips in their position meetings that show what the quarterback sees and why he reacts to certain defenses the way he does.

Prescott has consistently expressed his support for McCarthy and has publicly lobbied for his return. So did several other players.

McCarthy spent six years in the college ranks before breaking into the NFL in 1993 on Marty Schottenheimer’s Kansas City staff as the quality control coach. He was the quarterbacks coach for the Chiefs and Green Bay Packers before leaving to become the offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints in 2000.

Five years later, he took a job as the Niners’ offensive coordinator. McCarthy got his break as Packers head coach in 2006.

When McCarthy was announced as the ninth coach in Cowboys history, he made this statement:

“When you think about expectations, the goal never changes here,” he said. “It’s about winning championships.”

McCarthy was unable to make it happen.

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