At 3-6, the Cowboys appear to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020, having lost more games in nine contests than in any of the last three seasons.
After Dallas’ 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, owner and general manager Jerry Jones made a similar refrain regarding the status of coach Mike McCarthy: “I don’t think we’ll make a coaching change during the season,” he said. Jones.
But he did offer what success might look like as games progress without Dak Prescott, who will undergo season-ending surgery Wednesday due to a partial avulsion of his right hamstring.
“My criteria has always been, ‘How are we playing? Do we have a lead? Are we fundamentally competitive? Are we competitive when we’re down? That kind of thing,” Jones said. “Obviously not so much, the score. What does Bill say?” [Parcells] say? Are you what the score tells you you are? But still you look at all those things and there is no justice.
“Let me be very clear. Nobody is trying to be fair here. We are trying to win a game. And those are the things that I am considering to help be part of the decisions that could help us win a game. There is no joy here without winning games and I am very sorry for our fans.
McCarthy entered the season with high expectations and no guarantee of being the Cowboys coach in 2025 as his contract was not extended. The Cowboys posted three straight 12-5 finishes and made the playoffs three straight years, but failed to advance beyond the divisional round.
Jerry Jones refuses to point fingers at coaches in loss to Eagles
Jerry Jones reacts to the Dallas Cowboys’ resounding loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and refuses to blame any individual.
The first nine games have been disastrous. Beyond Prescott’s injury, the Cowboys have played four games without their best defensive player (Micah Parsons), five games without their most influential defender (DeMarcus Lawrence) and nine games without one of their Pro Bowl cornerbacks (DaRon Bland). . They lost their third and fourth pass rushers of the season (Sam Williams) or at least four games (Marshawn Kneeland) to knee injuries. No. 2 receiver Brandin Cooks hasn’t played since Week 4 following surgery to remove a knee infection. First-round left tackle Tyler Guyton has missed two games, including Sunday’s loss.
Jones will review those extenuating circumstances.
“Well, I am aware of the things that have happened to us and the degree to which in my mind [of] “How they’ve influenced things,” Jones said. “And, frankly, I take a lot of that into consideration when I look at any individual and especially the coach.”
But …
“There has to be accountability directed at someone other than just the player. I do that. I do that. And by the way, it’s not without other people giving their opinion on how those players or how those coaches coach as well,” Jones said. “This is not about just going out here and just doing it. And as you can imagine, I have a lot of people that I advise.”
Jones has made only one in-season coaching change since 1989. It came in 2010, when he fired Wade Phillips and promoted Jason Garrett, who would serve as head coach from 2011 to 2019.
Jones said he came to regret Phillips’ move, even though Garrett, who was considered the coach-in-waiting, went 5-3 after taking over as interim coach. Jones also came to regret firing Chan Gailey after two seasons (1998, 1999) in which he made the playoffs.
“You need to give yourself a chance,” Jones said. “I’ve had a lot more rope than that in my time. No one has ever thrown me that short.”
Jones called McCarthy an “extraordinary coach” and a “great coach, in my opinion.” [he] “He has and should have the opportunity to do better than what we are playing now.”
Jones said he expected the offense to do better, even without Prescott. He doesn’t understand why the Cowboys have faltered in the second half of games. He doesn’t put all the blame on the coaches.
“Everyone has something to do with this,” Jones said. “And we all know that the players play, and we know that the closest to them are the coaches. The closest to them are the people who hire the coaches, so everyone has a role in this. Everyone does.
“By the way, it’s no consolation that someone comes here and tells the fans, ‘That’s my fault. I’ll take this.’ What does that do? That doesn’t win the game. So I’m not trying to eliminate that either. nuisance”.
