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Todd Archer, ESPN writer
FRISCO, Texas — Much of the discussion surrounding Mike McCarthy during the Dallas Cowboys’ struggles this season has revolved around the coach’s job security during the season.
Speaking on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones was asked if it was crazy to think McCarthy could receive a contract extension after the season.
“I don’t think that’s crazy at all. It’s not crazy,” Jones said. “Listen, Mike McCarthy is an exceptional coach…Mike McCarthy has been there, done that. He has great ideas. So the bottom line is not in my body language or anything else. Have you seen an indication of what are we doing? What are we going to do regarding this staff at the end of this year and shouldn’t we have a lot of football left.”
McCarthy was asked about Jones’ comments later Tuesday.
“I haven’t really talked about it all year and I’m definitely not going to start it on a short week and in a big division game,” he said. “But I’m not going to waste the positive vibes either. So keep them coming. It’s all good. But yeah, that’s not something I’m really focused on.”
The Cowboys are 4-7 and snapped a five-game losing streak in Sunday’s win against the Washington Commanders. They play the New York Giants (2-9) on Thanksgiving Day, followed by games against the Cincinnati Bengals (4-7) and Carolina Panthers (3-8).
“This is not over,” Jones told The Fan.
Jones noted that the Cowboys will have players like wide receiver Brandin Cooks, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and others coming off injured reserve and guards Zack Martin (ankle, shoulder) and Tyler Smith (knee, ankle) and wing closed Jake Ferguson (concussion) who will return. of injuries.
But the Cowboys are in a delicate situation. Since 1990, seven teams have started 4-7 and made the playoffs; However, two of those teams (Washington in 2020 and Carolina in 2014) won their divisions with records below .500. Since the expansion to the 17-game schedule in 2021, two teams have made the playoffs with 4-7 starts (Jacksonville in 2022 and Tampa Bay in 2023), but both were division winners.
The Cowboys are in third place in the NFC East behind the Philadelphia Eagles (9-2) and Commanders (7-5) and have only the Giants and Panthers below them in the conference standings.
In 2018, the Cowboys went 3-5 before rebounding to make the playoffs, winning seven of their last eight.
While some Cowboys fans might not want to see more wins, which would move the team down the draft order, going under is not something Jones is considering.
“I just think the game is too important. The win is too important,” Jones said. “You look at a coach and, wow, a coach is sitting there, don’t think they don’t add up their wins and losses over their career and they don’t like having a loss there if they can just ask.” So my point is that, for all of us, a victory is very satisfying under any circumstances and helps you build. So there’s a lot of ambiguity with those draft picks. draft picks that were extraordinarily high that didn’t work out. I’ve had low ones that knocked it out of the park. Then you have to weigh what happens when you get the picks and the odds that you’ll knock one out of the park as well. instead of winning a game.”
