What is Jerry Jones up to?

Sometimes divorce is the best option – for everyone. Mom, dad, the children.

The metaphor broadly applies to the Dallas Cowboys and Mike McCarthy. The two teams decided to part ways on Monday as the head coach’s contract expired after five seasons marked by the significant ups and downs that America’s Team typically experiences for decades. Although the Cowboys had an exclusive window to reach a contract extension with McCarthy in recent days, an agreement was never reached.

McCarthy posted a 50-38 record with Dallas, including the postseason. His .583 regular-season winning percentage was the fourth-best in franchise history, even after being depressed by a 7-10 season in 2024 when McCarthy had many elements working against him.

Where do the parties go now and who will emerge better from this decision? Some winners and losers as McCarthy and Dallas entered HC free agency.

WINNER

Mike McCarthy

Leading the Cowboys is a tough job. Jerry Jones is the only owner in the league who effectively doubles as general manager and interacts so frequently with the media and fans, a tricky dynamic for any coach. McCarthy generally fared well, posting three consecutive 12-win regular season seasons from 2021 to 2023, with two NFC East titles captured during that span. He already has a Super Bowl win (2010 with the Green Bay Packers) on his resume and should immediately become a major commodity in the head coaching market when the 2025 cycle really gets going.

NFL STATISTICS CENTER: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

NFL teams with open coaching positions

With the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets all casting nets for their next HCs, it doesn’t seem like there’s exactly another white whale out there now that Mike Vrabel has, as expected, won the new one The England Patriots job – aside from Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. The Bears have already attempted to talk to McCarthy — the Cowboys refused permission during their exclusive negotiating window with him — while the Jags could also be tempting given the pieces of their roster already in place.

Elsewhere, McCarthy could be a great fit for the Jets, as QB Aaron Rodgers and WR Davante Adams (currently) remain under contract with the club – he coached both with the Packers – and no one could be better positioned to fill the void for one Clearly close the franchise at a certain transitional level. But …McCarthy would have to have the guts to work for Woody Johnson, who is just a step or two below Jones when it comes to engaging owners.

Bill Belichick?

It has already been reported that several NFL teams, including the Raiders, have reached out to the legendary coach, who took the head job at the University of North Carolina last month. And there was certainly speculation that Belichick could be a candidate to replace McCarthy a year ago after Dallas fell to Green Bay in the playoffs. Belichick and Jones have a close relationship and the Cowboys have plenty of resources and talented players that could lure many potential candidates for the job.

Of course, as for Belichick, would that be enough to terminate his contract with UNC a month into the new adventure? There’s also the question of whether he could actually coexist professionally with Jones – something his mentor, Hall of Famer Bill Parcells, only managed for four years. Still, it’s another option the 72-year-old could probably consider at some stage in his life and career, when he basically doesn’t have to worry much about long-term effects.

Former NFL head coaches

Regardless of whether Belichick is viable or not, given Jones’ desperate attempts to break his team’s Super Bowl hype, it stands to reason that ownership could lean toward bringing in someone with experience in a leadership role to replace McCarthy – who followed the likes of Parcells and Wade Phillips, although they preceded the long-time Jason Garrett. But this might be a position that would be better suited to, say, Pete Carroll or Kliff Kingsbury, perhaps even Steve Spagnuolo, who would bring experience and, theoretically, a thorough understanding of what this very challenging job entails.

All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.

LOSER

Prospective NFL head coaches

Whether Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Liam Coen, Joe Brady, Jesse Minter, Bobby Slowik or otherwise, the job in Dallas probably It’s not one where a potential HC rookie would draw much attention – maybe Johnson could, but he’s also made it clear he won’t take any job except the one that’s absolutely right for him. Worse, with McCarthy now in the mix, there could well be one less landing spot elsewhere in the league for hot (or relatively hot) assistants looking for their shot at the big promotion.

(The only notable exception might be Philadelphia Eagles OC Kellen Moore, who held the same role in Dallas for four seasons after previously serving as backup quarterback to Tony Romo and Dak Prescott. Moore’s coaching arrow is back on one given Philly’s offense Ascending Course has bounced back this season – thank you too, Saquon Barkley – and he would have a near-complete understanding of what it would be like to work for Jones.)

Jerry Jones

Midway through his fourth decade as owner and manager of what is arguably the country’s most popular sports franchise, he is once again looking for the man to lead the Cowboys, whose most recent Super Bowl appearance (and victory) was now 29 years ago will be the promised land. But despite the money, the publicity (to the extent that it is tempting) and the opportunities that Jones can offer, there are also aspects of his operation that work against him – namely himself. For a coach who rules his domain, a culture and philosophy establish and at the same time know that Jones will remain the top banana in North Texas, it is no easy task. Jones also did himself and his team a disservice by spending another week talking to McCarthy – as if this couldn’t have been resolved in recent months – at the expense of talking to potential candidates.

And Jerry did McCarthy a disservice in 2024 by dragging his feet before reaching the essentially inevitable extensions with Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb — and after (despite a repeatedly stated “all-in” approach) basically did not have free agency, even as a large portion of the team followed former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to the Washington Commanders, who ultimately overtook the Cowboys in the division. Aspiring coaches, especially those who are already in high demand, certainly need to keep their eyes peeled as to what parameters are at play here.

Dak Prescott

His numbers in 2020, his first with McCarthy, were incredible, even if the wins weren’t consistent before he suffered a sprained ankle in the fifth game. Prescott was the league’s 2021 Comeback Player of the Year and runner-up MVP last season before a torn hamstring ended his 2024 season early. But his play was largely Pro Bowl-caliber under his now-former coach, earning a record four-year, $240 million contract extension last September and always expressing his desire for McCarthy to stay on board, given the Cowboys’ high chances of success during his tenure. Now? Ultimately back to first place.

Mike McCarthy

He failed to end Dallas’ nearly three-decade championship drought, and the team’s playoff losses – two to the San Francisco 49ers and last year’s 48-32 loss to the Packers at AT&T Stadium – reflected a broader one or lack of preparation in terms of situational football and the adjustments against the Niners in particular. McCarthy has also been criticized at times for a lack of imagination, despite being generally considered one of the better players in the league. However, given the self-exploration and deep dive into analytics-based football he undertook between his stints in Green Bay and Dallas, it’s likely McCarthy is continuing to refine his approach ahead of the next job he’s likely to take.

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.

Breaking News

Dellupodisabato

Leave a Reply Cancel reply