6 Cowboys Already on Thin Ice in Training Camp

1. Mike McCarthy, Head Coach

When the Cowboys announced Mike McCarthy as their head coach in 2020, it left a lot to be desired.

McCarthy has a Super Bowl win on his resume but it's been a long time since he was seen as an elite coach, leaving fans less than thrilled about his future prospects. Making his selection feel more hollow was the fact that Jerry Jones seemed to settle on McCarthy from the start — similar to his approach when it came to hiring Mike Zimmer as the defensive coordinator.

Now as we enter his fifth season with the Cowboys, it's hard not to feel bad for McCarthy. He's led the Cowboys to 12 wins in each of the past three seasons but the team has been awful in the playoffs. That led to Jones deciding against an extension, sending McCarthy into the season as a lame duck coach.

To make matters worse, Jones has had no problem allowing the idea of Bill Belichick taking over next year to float around. He even kept it alive on the first day of camp when he wouldn't rule out brining the former New England coach on board. Instead, he decided to call him a great friend and praise his coaching.

Even before camp kicked off, there were reports that McCarthy has grown frustrated with Jones. It's understandable since listening to Jones talk can be frustrating. Throw in Stephen Jones trying to low ball every free agent — and in-house extension candidate — and it has to be downroght infuriating.

Having said that, it's clear McCarthy is on the thinnest of ice right now. The Jones family is looking for any reason to move on after this season — and McCarthy is going to have to win them over while also dealing with the drama they caused in their awful negotiations with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.

It's tough to watch but looking at the way Jones has operated in the past, McCarthy should have seen this coming.

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