The Dallas Cowboys stuck with Mike McCarthy as their head coach despite playoff failures after going 12-5 over the last three seasons, but if the team continues to struggle entering 2024 and remains below .500, McCarthy would be back on the hot seat.
Jerry Jones is known for being more patient with his coaches than other owners, as he tends to take some of the blame for disappointment while also serving as the Cowboys’ general manager. However, after four-plus seasons of higher expectations under McCarthy, the prolonged underperformance may finally prompt a change.
Here’s how quickly Jones’ remaining patience with McCarthy may run out after the Cowboys started 1-2, losing back-to-back home games to the Saints and Ravens.
NFL Headquarters on SN: Live NFL Scores | Updated NFL Standings | Full NFL Schedule
How much would it cost the Cowboys to fire Mike McCarthy?
The Cowboys offered McCarthy a five-year contract worth an estimated $4 million to $7 million per season when he was hired full-time to replace Jason Garrett in 2020. The former Packers coach got the job after taking a year off as coach in 2019.
McCarthy is in the final year of his contract in 2024 after Jones and team management opted not to extend him following last season’s home playoff loss to the Packers. The Cowboys will pay nothing if they “fire” McCarthy when his contract expires before the 2025 season. If Dallas fires McCarthy midseason, Jones won’t have to pay much to turn the page on his next coaching search.
What is Mike McCarthy’s record with the Cowboys?
McCarthy went 6-10 in his first season with the Cowboys when Dak Prescott injured his ankle early in the season. Since then, he’s 37-17, or 43-27, for a winning percentage of .614. Dallas won two NFC East titles with him and also earned a wild-card spot.
Given that McCarthy went 125-77-2 (.618) in his 13 years with the Packers, he has increased his regular-season success with the Cowboys. But McCarthy is 1-3 in the playoffs in Dallas after going 10-8 with a Super Bowl ring in Green Bay.
There are plenty of other factors that explain why the Cowboys have failed to make the playoffs, including the shaky performance of quarterback Dak Prescott. But Prescott just got a lucrative second long-term extension while McCarthy is only under contract through the end of this season.
WEEK 3 FANTASY RANKINGS:
QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST | Kickers
How hot is the coaching position under Mike McCarthy?
The Cowboys must at least make the playoffs and win more games in the playoffs for McCarthy to be retained. However, McCarthy could be traded sooner if the Cowboys don’t make the playoffs. After the Cowboys fell to 1-2 with a loss to the Ravens, losing their second straight home game, the rumblings will get louder.
The good news is that the Cowboys have an immediate recovery game as they travel to the Giants to open Week 4 on Thursday night, but they can’t take this team lightly as they are also coming off a win at the Browns. Getting to .500, however, doesn’t mean much with a tough four-game schedule ahead interspersed with their bye week: at the Steelers, vs. the Lions, at the 49ers, at the Falcons.
There’s a good chance the Cowboys won’t win more than one of those games. That would put them at 3-5 after the first half of the season, matching their losing total from each of the last three seasons.
Jones, when considering letting McCarthy go before the end of the season, could consider handing the team over to defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, the former Vikings head coach, in the interim. Then, Jones will be expected to make an even bigger effort to find his next coach, with the primary goal of ending the Super Bowl drought.
With a 1-2 record, McCarthy can expect to see rumors swirling about the Cowboys’ next head coach, starting with former Patriots coach Bill Belichick. It also makes sense to think about youth and offense, putting strong candidates like Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson on the radar.
The McCarthy era has been a fruitful one for the Cowboys, with the exception of the playoffs, but this season has the potential to become a bad apple in no time.
