Breaking News: McCarthy Out as Cowboys Head Coach

Drop the ‘Mike’ in Dallas.

After weeks of speculation and plenty of back and forth by owner and general manager, a decision has come down in ‘Big D’. The Cowboys are letting go of head coach Mike McCarthy after five seasons at the helm (2020-2024) according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. Mc Carthy’s deal expired on January 8, but the team held an exclusive negotiating window with the coach until Tuesday at midnight. However, the sides have not gone to the table to negotiate regarding a new deal. McCarthy will put energy and focus in pursuing other opportunities, according to NFL Media.

McCarthy’s 49-35 record since becoming Dallas’ head coach in 2020, replacing Jason Garrett, is tied for the eighth-best in the NFL along with the Minnesota Vikings, and the team’s three consecutive 12-win seasons from 2021-2023 were Dallas’ first since a four-season stretch from 1992-1995. That is when the team won three Super Bowls in a four-year span. Under McCarthy’s leadership, the Cowboys became the first team since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger to win at least 12 games three years in a row and not appear in a conference championship game. That is why McCarthy’s future was in jeopardy in the first place. In both years the Cowboys missed the postseason under McCarthy, starting quarterback Dak Prescott suffered season-ending injuries: a fractured ankle (2020) and a torn hamstring (2024).

Following Dallas’s 23-19 home defeat against the Washington Commanders that ran the team’s record to 7-10 after battling a boat load of injuries, McCarthy made it clear that his desire was to remain with ‘America’s Team’ with his original coaching contract with the team set to expire on January 14. Prescott also told CBS Sports in a one-on-one sit-down interview that he would go and have a conversation with owner and general manager Jerry Jones on McCarthy’s behalf.

“Absolutely. I have a lot invested here, and the Cowboys have a lot invested in me,” McCarthy said postgame after Week 18 when asked if remaining with the Cowboys is his top preference. “And then there’s a personal side to all these decisions. They all point in the right direction. … Those are all positive attributes that you take into account. Absolutely, I’m a builder. I believe in building programs. I believe in developing young players. So, at the end of day, it is about winning, and you have to have those components in place to get this thing where it needs to be. I think we have a very good foundation here.”

Jones clearly disagreed with McCarthy’s assessment that the pair built a “very good foundation” together in Dallas, which is why McCarthy is now on the open market and free to talk to anyone.