Cowboys Can't Afford to Let Mike McCarthy Leave After This Season

Throughout this entire season, both local and national media have exhausted the storyline of whether or not the current head coach of the Cowboys, Mike McCarthy, will remain in Dallas once this disappointing season comes to an end.

While many across the country have been asking whether or not McCarthy will be given the opportunity to remain with the Cowboys, very few have asked the question of whether or not McCarthy wants to remain in Dallas once his contract expires in a couple of weeks.

Since being hired by the Cowboys in January 2020, McCarthy was quickly able to find success at the helm and currently holds a solid 49-33 record through almost five full seasons in Dallas. While McCarthy has not been able to find much success in the postseason with the Cowboys, he has been one of the most dominant coaches through the regular season during his tenure with the Cowboys. He currently holds the third-highest winning percentage of any coach in the NFC since 2020.

Although McCarthy has been successful overall so far with the Cowboys, prior to the start of the season, Jerry Jones made it clear that this season would be do-or-die for McCarthy. This was revealed when Jones announced McCarthy would not be given a contract extension before the season began.

Jones' decision not to extend McCarthy's contract before going into the season is even more perplexing since both McCarthy's starting quarterback and star wide receiver were granted extensions before the regular season began.

Jones' poor treatment of McCarthy this past offseason could potentially lead to McCarthy willingly looking for a new home once this season concludes, whether he is given the opportunity to remain in Dallas or not.

While Jones has been critical of McCarthy throughout the season, he recently changed his tune. He spoke very highly of McCarthy earlier this week on a local radio station in Dallas. Jones gave rare praise to his head coach for the job he has been doing these past few weeks in turning this dreadful season around for the Cowboys.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of the coaching staff, led by Mike McCarthy, the leadership on this team, and really proud of these young players. They just are growing mentally and physically by leaps and bounds, makes me think we've got and outstanding future ahead of us."

- Jerry Jones on Mike McCarthy

While Jones' recent praise of McCarthy could indicate that the Cowboys front office is leaning towards renewing McCarthy's contract it could potentially be too little too late for the organization. Rumors have been circulating for the past few weeks now that theChicago Bears could potentially be interested in signing McCarthy once this season comes to an end.

NFL Rumors: Potential New Home for Mike McCarthy?

The Chicago Bears head coaching position has remained vacant since they fired Matt Eberflus after his humiliating loss to the Detroit Lions in front of all of America on Thanksgiving Day. The Bears' offense has continued to struggle mightily since firing Eberflus which was highlighted when they were only able to put up three points against the Seahawks on Thursday.

With the Bears at the bottom of several categories, both on offense and defense, it appears that the team desperately needs a new voice in the locker room, and McCarthy could be the man for the job.

If McCarthy did decide to leave Dallas to join the Bears organization, he would return to the NFC North a division that he is quite familiar with after spending eight years in the division with the Packers before being fired by the organization near the end of the 2018 season. 

Joining the Bears would also give McCarthy a chance to escape from the never-ending circus that is the Cowboys organization. With Cowboys ownership often focusing on anything other than football, joining an organization that prioritizes winning games and building the best team can be a refreshing change for McCarthy. 

While McCarthy has seldomly let his opinions known to the public during his time in Dallas, it must be assumed that McCarthy is sick of the constant theatrics that his football team is constantly being interrupted by. To make matters worse, his boss is at the focal point of all of them.

Since arriving in Dallas, McCarthy has been treated as second fiddle to Jones, with the Cowboys owner going as far as having his post-game press conference at the same time McCarthy gives his, which is one of many examples of Jones undermining his own head coach. 

With the constant disruptions and distractions that run rampant across the Cowboys organization, fans, and media members are forced to wonder if McCarthy would even want to sign a new contract and have to put up with being nothing more than a puppet in Jerry's show for the foreseeable future.

With this new twist of fate in the McCarthy saga, it will be interesting to see how the Cowboys' final two weeks of the season play out. If McCarthy does not remain the head coach of the Cowboys after 2024, I believe it would be another one of Jerry Jones's many grave missteps.

While McCarthy has been one of the most under-appreciated coaches in the league while with the Cowboys, his success on the field is undeniable, along with the strong relationships he builds with his players. His strong bond with his players was exemplified this past weekend when the Cowboys pulled off an impressive upset win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past Sunday in a game that meant everything to the Buccaneers and mathematically nothing to the Cowboys in terms of making the playoffs.

The fact that McCarthy can get his team to have such an impressive performance in a game that has no implications for their future should give the fans and media an idea of what kind of coach he is. Not to mention that McCarthy currently has one of the most depleted rosters in the NFC on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

Overall it would be a shame for the Cowboys organization if McCarthy does not remain with the franchise going forward. Due to how slim the coaching pool currently is, especially with Belichick now out of the picture, Jones, along with the rest of the Cowboys front office, should think long and hard about how they want to handle these next two weeks.

If the potential return of McCarthy is mismanaged, it could seriously jeopardize the team's chances at success for years to come.

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