Cowboys’ Jerry Jones addresses Mike McCarthy’s future before playoffs

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has insisted Mike McCarthy won’t be coaching for his job in next Monday’s wild-card playoff game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

“No. I don’t even want to … No. That’s it,” Jones responded when asked during Tuesday’s appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas if the upcoming postseason contest could impact McCarthy’s status with the club, per Todd Archer of ESPN. “I don’t need to go into all the pluses or minuses. I’ve got a lot more to evaluate Mike McCarthy on than this playoff game.”

McCarthy guided the 2021 Cowboys to a 12-5 record and the NFC East title, but Dallas then fell to the San Francisco 49ers in a home wild-card playoff game. Shortly after that matchup, multiple NFL insiders linked the Cowboys with former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. Payton spent three years working for the Cowboys before he guided the Saints to a Super Bowl championship. 

Payton didn’t immediately return to the sidelines and instead accepted a job with Fox Sports. Meanwhile, McCarthy’s 2022 Cowboys went 12-5 but finished second in the division standings behind the 14-3 Philadelphia Eagles. According to Archer, McCarthy has two more years on his contract. 

Jones added during Tuesday’s radio interview that he has “complete confidence in this coaching staff” to get the job done against seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady and the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on Monday night. Somewhat ironically, it’s been suggested that Payton and Brady could be a package deal for a team looking for upgrades at head coach and quarterback this coming offseason. 

For a piece published Monday, The Athletic’s Bob Sturm pointed out that the future of Dallas signal-caller Dak Prescott could “be cloudy” if Prescott loses a second-consecutive playoff start.