Mike McCarthy is expected to remain as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys amid speculation about his future following the team’s surprising wild-card round exit to the Green Bay Packers last Sunday.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Wednesday night that the 60-year-old, who just wrapped up his fourth season in Dallas, will see out the final year of his contract with the Cowboys during the 2024-25 season.
Labeling the update “not unusual,” Schefter added that Dallas allowed its former head coach Jason Garrett to also coach during the final year of his contract in 2019.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who declined to address McCarthy’s future after last weekend’s 48-32 home loss to Green Bay, said: “I think this team is very close and capable to achieve our ultimate goals and the best step forward for us will be with Mike McCarthy as our head coach.
‘It is very beneficial to continue the team’s progress under Mike’s leadership as our head coach. Specifically, there are many levels of success that have occurred this season as a result of Mike’s approach to leading the team, both with individual players and collectively without the team.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy faced growing calls to be fired after losing to Green Bay.
“Mike has the highest regular season winning percentage of any head coach in Cowboys history and we will be dedicated, in partnership with him, to translating that into achieving our postseason goals. Certainly, Mike’s career has shown postseason success at a high level and we have great confidence that it can continue.”
Referring to what was the only playoff game played in Dallas this year, Jones said, “Also, our loss on Sunday is shared by everyone here, not just Coach McCarthy.” Our players. Our coaches. Our main office. Myself. There is responsibility for our results. I am responsible for our results. The lens we use to view and evaluate Coach McCarthy is holistic. While we are all disappointed with Sunday’s outcome and without our playoff record, I 100 percent support him as our head coach and his ability to achieve our goals.
The Cowboys (12-6) have three straight 12-win seasons and playoff trips in four years under McCarthy, hired after more than 12 seasons in Green Bay because of his penchant for leading the Packers to the playoffs.
Now Dallas is approaching 29 years since the franchise’s last trip to the NFC Championship Game. It was the 1995 season when the Cowboys won their fifth Super Bowl championship.
The Cowboys ascended to the NFC East title by overtaking Philadelphia, the free-falling defending division and conference champion, in the final two weeks of the regular season.
Suddenly, Dallas had a chance to host a divisional game after a win in the wild card game for the first time since that 1995 season after finishing the regular season on a 16-game home winning streak.
Instead, there will be plenty of questions, along with reminders that McCarthy and Prescott are entering the final years of their contracts.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was cagey about McCarthy’s future after last Sunday’s loss.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott insisted he will follow McCarthy out of Dallas if the organization fires the 60-year-old.
“I don’t know what they can be like, but I understand the business,” Prescott said when asked about the loss that sparked speculation about his 60-year-old coach’s future. ‘In that case, it should be about me too.
“I’ve had the season I’ve had because of him,” said Prescott, who threw two interceptions before three mostly empty touchdown passes as Dallas lost 48-16. ‘This team has had the success it has had thanks to him. I understand it’s about winning the Super Bowl. That’s the standard of this league and (damn) it sure is the standard of this place. I understand, but add me to the list, in that case.
It is the second time in McCarthy’s three playoff seasons with Dallas that the Cowboys lost their first playoff game at home. San Francisco beat them in the wild card round two years ago.
Last year, Prescott had one of the best games of his career in a win over Tampa Bay that ended up being Tom Brady’s last game before losing to the Niners again, this time on the road, in the divisional round.
Dallas is the first team to win at least 12 games in three consecutive playoff seasons and not once advance to a conference title game.
McCarthy led the Packers this far four times in nine postseason trips, reaching the Super Bowl once and beating Pittsburgh at the Cowboys’ home ground to win the title during the 2010 season. He was fired in the midst of a second straight losing season. in 2018.
“I think the biggest thing is we’re disappointed,” McCarthy said when asked if he thinks he’ll stay as coach. ‘I have a whole team in the locker room that is suffering. I haven’t thought beyond the outcome of this game.
McCarthy said he had “the whole locker room hurting” when asked if he would stay last Sunday.
Prescott’s playoff record fell to 2-5 after leading the NFL with 36 touchdown passes during the regular season and being in the MVP conversation.
“We had everything ready three hours ago,” Prescott said. “This is the last place anyone in this organization, especially in our locker room, would have thought we were going to be. That’s why I keep using the words ‘shocked’ or ‘stunned.’
Dallas is the first No. 2 seed to lose to the last team at No. 7 since the playoffs expanded to the 14-team format in 2020.
Jones said there was “nothing set” about when he would meet with McCarthy.
“What I had planned to do was be with him going over how we played and getting ready for next week,” Jones said. ‘That’s what was on the agenda. Tomorrow my agenda will be to say goodbye to the team.