Mike McCarthy Negotiations With Cowboys Take Bizarre Turn on Monday
Dallas Cowboys fans probably don't need much introduction to the Mike McCarthy saga that has played out so far this offseason. McCarthy's contract is expiring, but the Cowboys have an "exclusive negotiation period" in his deal, so he hasn't been free to interview for new jobs yet. The Chicago Bears have even sought permission to interview McCarthy, and Jerry Jones and the Cowboys denied them.
That sent a crystal-clear message that Dallas is looking to retain McCarthy. Whether you think he deserves the job or not, what other reason could there be for not allowing him to interview with another team?
Or at least, that's what you would think if Jerry Jones ran the Cowboys in a way that ever made sense. Instead, Adam Schefter brought us the strangest update yet on Monday morning.
With Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy eligible to talk to other teams after midnight Tuesday, there still haven’t been any negotiations on a new deal with Dallas, per sources. It’s now looking like McCarthy will indeed become a coaching free agent, with Chicago and New Orleans both… pic.twitter.com/Hi9BSAgQSP
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 13, 2025
Cowboys Not Even Negotiating With Mike McCarthy
Schefter has reported that as of Monday, with only a little over 24 hours before the exclusive negotiation period expires and McCarthy becomes officially free to interview with anyone he wants, the Cowboys have not even begun negotiations with their former head coach.
Let's take a deep breath and give the most generous interpretation first. Jerry Jones doesn't seem to deserve the benefit of the doubt in a situation like this, but if we were to give it to him, maybe he was really, really hopeful the two sides would start negotiating. Maybe he denied the Bears' request to interview McCarthy because he really expected to sit down and have a good chat with McCarthy, and that this exclusive window would be the edge he needed to bring his favorite head coaching candidate back.
But that's pretty darn hard to believe when you hear that the sides haven't even started negotiating. We don't know which side refuses to sit down with the other, but either scenario should've squashed any optimism that would have made the denial a reasonable move. If McCarthy said he was 100% out, it seems unnecessarily vindictive to not allow him to start interviewing. If Jones didn't want McCarthy, then hampering his ability to start looking for other jobs would be completely unnecessary and petty.
No matter how you feel about McCarthy's tenure in Dallas, it would be unprofessional and frankly a little childish to want to make it harder for him to land a new job. And when you consider how involved Jerry is with the Cowboys it becomes impossible to detangle how much blame for the disappointing McCarthy era belongs on the coach and how much belongs on Jones.
Once the class of the NFL, the loud public chaos and drama within the Cowboys organization is rapidly deteriorating the franchise's reputation. No longer a premium destination for free agents or head coaching candidates, nonsense like this from Jones is going to make this probelm get much worse before it starts to get any better.
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