Cowboys Rumors: Mike McCarthy Not Expected to Get New Contract Before 2024 NFL Season

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 20, 2024

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Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is expected to remain a lame duck in 2024, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

McCarthy’s contract expires after next season, and Schefter reported he isn’t expected to get a new deal for now.

“[Team owner Jerry] Jones believes that a person in the last year of a contract is challenged in a different way, and it often can bring out the best in people — which he is banking on the happening in 2024 with McCarthy,” he wrote.

One counterargument is that allowing a coach’s contract to wind down like this represents a lack of faith from ownership. Opting for this path signals to people inside and outside of the organization someone is coaching for their job, which presents its own challenges.

“Some sources around the league believe that McCarthy could have a more challenging time filling potential openings on his coaching staff since he will be in the last year of his deal,” Schefter reported. “Others say that, during periods of adversity, McCarthy’s lack of an extension could hover over the team.”

ESPN’s Ed Werder detailed how the gambit had mixed returns with McCarthy’s predecessor:

Ed Werder @WerderEdESPNJerry Jones forced Jason Garrett into this position twice, believing it heightened motivation for everyone. Garrett went 12-4 first time and won 5-year contract. He finished 8-8 the second and did not return, replaced by Mike McCarthy. https://t.co/Da8B6cX7k5

Saying the strategy worked in 2014 might be missing the forest for the trees as well. Sure, the Cowboys went 12-4 that year, but their success meant Jones recommitted to a coach who delivered two playoff trips and just one postseason victory over the next five years.

Extending McCarthy’s contract obviously would be a puzzling call on the heels of a disastrous showing in the NFL playoffs. But the justifications for not giving him an extension are almost indistinguishable from the reasons why you’d just fire him now.

It already feels as though the writing is on the wall.

Kevin Clark @bykevinclarkThere has never been a coach as pre-fired as Mike McCarthy next season. You think you’ve seen pre-fired guys. Bears John Fox. Mike Mularkey generally. Ron Rivera this year. But no one has ever been this pre-fired.

Because McCarthy will be under so much scrutiny, the Cowboys in 2024 could be two or three straight losses away from entering a state of chaos.