The Dallas Cowboys opted not to sign head coach Mike McCarthy to a contract extension this spring, despite him coming off three consecutive 12-win seasons. Entering a contract year, McCarthy is now on the verge of his second losing season in Dallas and seems to be among the NFL coaches on the hot seat.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones parted ways with former coach Jason Garrett following the 2019 season when the team went 8-8 and missed the playoffs. While Dallas made the playoffs three times under Garrett, he went just 2-3 in the NFL Playoffs and Jones wanted someone who could get the Cowboys to the Super Bowl.

• Mike McCarthy coaching record: 47-33 as the Dallas Cowboys head coach

Dallas regressed in McCarthy’s first season, finishing with a 6-10 record. He then fired his defensive coordinator and hired Dan Quinn, sparking a three-year run that saw the Cowboys post a 36-15 record in three seasons. However, in a contract year, Dallas is on pace for its second losing season under McCarthy.

Many assumed coming into the season that the Cowboys would have to reach the NFC Championship Game for Jones to sign McCarthy to a new contract. Falling well short of that, a coaching change seemed inevitable for Dallas. Now, that no longer appears to be the case.

On the latest episode of the Scoop City podcast, senior NFL writer Dianna Russini of The Athletic said there is now a “feeling around the league” that McCarthy will be the Cowboys coach in 2025.

With his contract expiring in January, this would obviously mean that Jones would be signing McCarthy to a new contract despite not making the playoffs. In the eyes of the Cowboys’ owner, three consecutive 12-win seasons didn’t warrant a new deal heading into the uncertainty of a contract year but this season seems to be worth a new deal.

“I don’t think that’s crazy at all. This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there and done that. He has great ideas. We got a lot of football left.”

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in November on the idea of signing Mike McCarthy to a contract extension

While it would seemingly go against how most NFL franchises are run, Jones has shown unique loyalty to head coaches over the past decade-plus. Garrett never posted a winning record from 2010-’13 and he had just one playoff appearance in his first five seasons as the Cowboys head coach, but Dallas kept him around for 10 years. Evidently, history might repeat itself with McCarthy being the beneficiary of Jones’ patience with coaches.