It is now day five of the Dallas Cowboys offseason and Mike McCarthy remains in limbo. Jerry Jones has until Jan. 14 (next Tuesday) until McCarthy’s contract expires. At that point, McCarthy will be free to take any job without Dallas’ permission.

As of this writing, the Bears are the only team to request an interview with McCarthy. ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler reported that the Saints are interested in McCarthy, but they have yet to reach out, potentially because the Cowboys denied Chicago’s request.

Per Fowler, McCarthy and Jones spent significant time Tuesday and Wednesday discussing the future of the franchise. Fowler’s sources in Dallas believe McCarthy is “more likely to stay than leave” but nothing is set in stone.

While Jones drags his feet, every team with a coaching vacancy has initiated the interview process. Prominent names Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Brian Flores, Joe Brady and Anthony Weaver are among the hottest commodities this hiring cycle.

Jones risks losing out on all of them by delaying his decision. However, ESPN personality Mike Greenberg thinks Jones has his eyes on a true dark horse – one that may force Cowboys fans to quit on the team once and for all if he’s hired.

Floated Mike McCarthy replacement is terrifying for Cowboys fans

“The way this makes sense is if Jerry Jones has someone in mind that he wants to see if he can get,” said Greenberg. “And if he can’t get that person he still wants Mike McCarthy. What is the big thing that happens between now and Jan. 14? Steve Sarkisian’s season might end and he might get the opportunity to have that conversation before the exclusive window closes.”

Greenberg might be onto something here. Sarkisian would be a true wild card, but it would seem logical that if Jones has a backup plan mind, it must be a candidate teams aren’t actively interviewing. Otherwise he would need to be more urgent with McCarthy.

Still, though, hiring Sarkisian given the other available candidates would be a disaster waiting to happen.

The college-to-NFL pipeline has a spotty track record at best. Sarkisian himself is part of that. He served as the Falcons’ offensive coordinator in 2017 and ’18. He was fired after the 2018 season after Atlanta finished 7-9.

While the Falcons’ defense was more at fault for the losing record, Sarkisian did not cover himself in glory with his unbalanced play-calling and inefficient red-zone offense. It is damning that Sarkisian couldn’t last three years in an offense that boasted, Matt Ryan, prime Julio Jones, a young Calvin Ridley, Devonta Freeman, Austin Hooper, Mohamed Sanu and Tevin Coleman.

Sarkisian deserves credit for putting Texas back on the national map. The Longhorns are in the College Football Playoff for the second straight year and they will play Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Friday for a spot in the national championship.

Sarkisian’s stock has never been higher and it’s impressive that he’s turned around a struggling powerhouse like Texas. However, we have serious reservations about his ability to lead an NFL organization … because he has never done it before.

With names like Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Joe Brady, Liam Coen, Todd Monken and Anthony Weaver all available, hiring Sarkisian would be a wholly unnecessary risk.