The Cowboys are in an interesting spot with lame-duck head coach Mike McCarthy, who is not under contract for next season but has been consistently praised by owner Jerry Jones despite the peculiar situation.
It has felt increasingly likely that McCarthy will stick around to get another opportunity with this aging roster, though one new report from Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network will confuse fans even further.
According to Rapoport and Pelissero, there have been "no substantive talks yet about an extension for McCarthy in Dallas." If the two sides haven't even discussed it, why has Jones insisted on talking about it constantly amid a lost season?
Cowboys and Mike McCarthy Haven't Had Substantive Talks About Contract Extension
Mike McCarthy’s contract is set to expire Jan. 14. That gives the #Cowboys an exclusive negotiating window — and a soft deadline to strike a deal or potentially lose McCarthy to another job.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 3, 2025
Full story from me and @RapSheet: https://t.co/wIvRucEAvp
McCarthy's contract expires on January 14. That's 11 days from the release of this report. If Jones was serious about keeping the veteran leader, who has a 49-34 record with the Cowboys, why would he wait this long to actually start negotiating?
Even preliminary talks would make sense to see if a deal could be struck. Instead, Jones is using the same playbook that failed him in discussions with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb. When given the chance to sign the two early at a discount, Jones instead went the stubborn route and wound up paying top dollar when it wasn't necessary.
He's proven to be a master at keeping the news cycle focused on the organization, but a terrible negotiator when it would actually help the team on the field. That's partially why the franchise has been trapped in mediocrity for so long, and it looks like Jones has learned nothing from his mistakes.
There are solid arguments in favor of keeping McCarthy for continuity and stability and players like Micah Parsons have spoken out in support. That said, other teams sound interested in McCarthy and Jones is running out of time to strike a deal if he actually wants to do so.
In all likelihood, it's best for the Cowboys to get a fresh voice in the building. Working with Jones is notoriously difficult though, so retaining McCarthy might be the "safe" option. If Dallas wants him to remain the head coach, they'd better move quickly because at this point, there's a ticking time bomb on McCarthy's tenure with the team.
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