As we await a decision on Mike McCarthy, his entire coaching staff is now free to talk with other teams
There still hasn’t been any resolution on the future of Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
On Wednesday, McCarthy’s contract officially ended with the Cowboys, but owner Jerry Jones and his front office constituents have until Tuesday, Jan. 14 to exclusively negotiate a new deal with their five-year head coach.
As for McCarthy’s staff of assistants, their contracts all ended on Wednesday as well, but they are free to talk with any team that pursues them, and at least two staffers have already garnered interest, according to multiple sources.
This leaves those coaches in a tough spot.
Take it from McCarthy, who expressed more concern about the future of his assistants in the final weeks of the season than his own future knowing that a lot of family decisions would have to be made on an expedited timeline. Furthermore, an answer from Jerry Jones on Sunday outside the locker room remains at the top of mind.
“I would say go talk,’’ Jones said when asked what he would do if McCarthy wanted to interview with another team. “I really would. It’s not healthy to have someone around who wants to be someplace else…I wouldn’t sit down with any coach to talk about their future if they didn’t want to be here.”
Speaking of sitting down, Jones and McCarthy have had extensive discussions over the last 48 hours about their potential future together, and it has some in the building thinking a return for the 61-year-old is likelier than his departure. However, everyone knows that nothing can be assumed until a deal is negotiated and agreed upon by both sides.
“You can assume that if I’m talking with them, they want to be here,” Jones added.
Deciding on a head coach is a drastic choice that shouldn’t be taken lightly, but it took some organizations such as New England, Jacksonville and New York less than 24 hours to publicly decide on the futures of their respective head coaches.
Why could McCarthy’s decision be taking longer?
None of those three saw their respective contracts expire. Instead of it being a two-way street, it was a one-sided decision from ownership/management that was rather open-and-shut. That is what makes this decision a bit more convoluted. What does Jerry want? What does McCarthy want? How can they meet in the middle?
Jerry mentioned on Sunday the potential desire for an “incentive plan” and how fans would be receptive to that.
“Most of the fans want everybody to be on the incentive plan,” Jones said on Sunday. “Everybody wants it to be on the incentive plan, and so the more you can have the incentive plan, to me, the better...For instance, I might say, ‘Look, I’m going to pay you this much, but then I’ll pay you not any more. And I know you want twice that, but if you get to the playoffs or you win a Super Bowl, I’ll give you five times that.’”
It sounds fair enough on the surface. McCarthy was brought in to elevate postseason success, and that hasn’t happened (1-3 record in five seasons in the playoffs). But for McCarthy, who has been coaching in the NFL for the better part of the last 31 years, he could be seeking security in the form of contract length and guarantees, given how he wasn’t a huge fan of coaching on an expiring contract in 2024.
“It’s been a challenging year, based on our contract situation for coaches,” McCarthy said in the days leading up to the season finale. “It’s stating the obvious.”
The two sides will need to meet in the middle before Tuesday’s deadline before buzz can start to creep around McCarthy’s desires outside of Dallas. But as of now, there’s no reason to believe that they exist after Dallas declined the Chicago Bears’ request to interview McCarthy earlier this week.
Regardless, the clock is ticking – not only for McCarthy, but for the Joneses as well. While there will be certain staff changes in 2025, it would be preferred to choose which ones depart and which ones make their way back to Frisco. With each day that passes without clarity up top, both sides risk some of those pieces being decided for them.
This story was originally published January 9, 2025 at 4:55 PM.
