Cowboys’ Jones praises McCarthy, won’t commit to future role.

 

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys‘ season came to an end with a 23-19 loss to the Washington Commanders Sunday, and now comes the challenging part.

Does owner and general manager Jerry Jones retain Mike McCarthy, whose contract expires Wednesday, or does he begin a search for his ninth head coach since he purchased the team in 1989?

For more than 40 minutes, Jones spoke to the media outside the locker room, speaking glowingly about McCarthy but never fully committed to him for 2025 and beyond.

“I don’t know that I am considering making a change is really what I’m trying to say,” Jones said.

McCarthy has posted a 49-35 regular-season record with the Cowboys, but he is 1-3 in the playoffs, has not advanced past the divisional round and suffered two of the more painful home postseason defeats in franchise history.

The Cowboys’ Super Bowl drought is now at 29 seasons.

“Mike’s one of the best coaches that I think there is,” Jones said. “He was made the coach here because I thought that, and he’s done absolutely nothing to diminish my opinion of him as a coach.”

McCarthy removed any doubt about his wishes. He wants to return to the Cowboys, despite a number of jobs that are currently open and others that could come open soon.

Jones said the coaching decision would not be based solely on the results of this season but a five-year view. And he took blame for the composition of the roster that fell short this season.

“That’s very fair. I always provide the roster for the coaches. And so if you don’t get there, then you’ve always got some second-guessing,” Jones said. “We make a lot of decisions. Some of them don’t work out as good as others.”

Jones was impressed with how the Cowboys played after all of the injuries. They won four of five games to remain in playoff contention until Week 16. Key players like Prescott and Micah Parsons have backed McCarthy’s return, which Jones said was important.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Jones said, “but certainly we’re all looking for ways to get better.”