The Dallas Cowboys will close out a disappointing season on Sunday, leaving team owner Jerry Jones with a critical decision regarding the coaching staff.
DALLAS — Regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s Week 18 finale, the Cowboys will end the season with a losing record for the first time since 2020. Currently at 7-9 with one game left, the focus after the underwhelming campaign will shift to evaluating the coaching staff’s future.
The responsibility for that decision rests with Jerry Jones, who remained non-committal on Tuesday about head coach Mike McCarthy’s status.
As the year nears its end, Jones appeared on the Shan & RJ show on Audacy’s 105.3 The Fan to reflect on a challenging season, which included a demoralizing Week 17 blowout loss to Philadelphia. The Eagles secured the NFC East in dominant fashion with a 41-7 victory over their Dallas rivals.
The defeat came after the Cowboys had won four of their last five games, providing some relief to the pressure on McCarthy. However, Jones made it clear he’s not rushing to finalize any decisions about the coach.
“I’m not under any unusual timeframe at all,” Jones said, just days before the Cowboys conclude a season that saw them miss the playoffs despite Jones declaring a “Super Bowl or bust” goal.
“What I’m not going to do this morning is give any indication one way or the other about my interest in having [McCarthy] return,” Jones continued. “I don’t want that to be the case at all. We’ve got this game ahead of us, but I can assure you I’ve been considering how we’ll proceed after this season for weeks.”
Last week, Jones expressed pride in McCarthy and the coaching staff despite the difficulties of the season. On Tuesday, he reiterated his confidence in McCarthy without guaranteeing his job security.
“I feel good about Mike McCarthy,” Jones said. “The main thing is I appreciate the work he’s done. It’s unfortunate we’ve had this kind of season, but I feel good about Mike.”
Whether Jones’s support translates into McCarthy staying will be determined in the coming weeks. It’s notable that McCarthy entered the season in the final year of his contract, and the Cowboys will now end the year out of the playoffs for the first time in four years after three consecutive 12-win seasons.
The loss to Philadelphia cemented Dallas’s first losing season since McCarthy’s debut in 2020, when they went 6-10. This season also featured the team’s longest losing streak—five games—since a seven-game skid in 2015.
There is a throughput in each of those years with Dallas losing their starting quarterback to season-ending injuries. Like 2020, McCarthy has coached this year without franchise QB Dak Prescott following a Week 9 hamstring injury that ended his year.
The injuries have been a sticking point for Jones, who still believes in the core of his team and that they can come back strong next season with better health.
“When I look at where we are at our talent level, I feel real good that we’ve got the nucleus of a team that can compete.” Jones said, before making his pitch for the future with the return of Prescott. “I think our fans can look forward to the kinds of things that a healthy Prescott, a protected Prescott, does to have the complimentary football that [McCarthy] talks about.”
The Cowboys will finish up their season with a Week 18 clash against the surprising Washington Commanders who snatched former Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to be their head coach and then saw him lead Washington to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Kickoff for the finale is set for noon at AT&T Stadium in what could be McCarthy’s final game at the helm, but Jones remains mum on that decision.
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