Mike McCarthy is entering his 84th game as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys this weekend. While he can’t finish this campaign with a winning record, he reeled off three straight 12-5 seasons and is 49-34 overall in Dallas.
The problem is that he’s just 1-3 in the playoffs and their last postseason defeat was about as ugly of a loss as you could imagine.
That’s why he went into the year without a contract beyond 2024. The belief was that he needed playoff success to convince Jerry Jones to keep him around and that won’t happen since they failed to even make the postseason.
Perhaps that’s why McCarthy sounds like a man who knows his days are numbered. When speaking with the media ahead of the Week 18 finale, McCarthy said he has a “strong emotional attachment” to AT&T Stadium where he won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers. He added that he was “in tune” with the fact that this could be his final game with the franchise.
McCarthy was put in a tough spot by Jones. Not only did Jones refuse to give McCarthy an extension, but he did less this offseason than he has in recent memory.
That left McCarthy with a depleted roster and limited influence.
The veteran head coach should be praised for keeping the team fighting despite everything going against them. Still, their Week 16 blowout loss was a stark reminder that things can go south in a hurry under McCarthy, which is why Jones is likely moving on.
