Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he has no interest in firing coach Mike McCarthy midseason following Sunday’s 34-6 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Mike is a heck of a coach, a great coach in my mind,” Jones said when asked about McCarthy’s status. “(He) has and should have the opportunity to do better than we’re playing right now. I haven’t had good experience changing coaches in the middle of the season.”
The only coach Jones has fired mid-season was Wade Phillips in 2010 after a 45-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 9. Assistant head coach Jason Garrett took over as interim head coach and became the head coach permanently in 2011.
“I’ve changed coaches in the season with Wade and have always regretted it,” Jones said. “As a matter of fact, I made a change with Chan Gailey after two years. I regretted that. That’s not enough. You need to give yourself a chance. I’ve had a lot more rope than that, in my time. I haven’t had anybody pull it short on me.”
With Sunday’s loss, the Cowboys fell to 3-6 and 0-4 at home. Backup quarterback Trey Lance saw his first game action in two years and took over for a benched Cooper Rush in the fourth quarter. Lance previously checked in for a two-play package in the third quarter, but Rush came back in and fumbled on the next play.
The Cowboys are playing without Dak Prescott, who is on injured reserve with a hamstring injury suffered in Week 9.
Questions have swirled throughout the season about McCarthy’s future, and Jones has previously said that he doesn’t plan to make an in-season coaching change. McCarthy has led the Cowboys to a 45-31 record and is in the final year of his five-year deal with Dallas.
Why Jones is sticking with McCarthy
This response is similar to the ones Jones has given over the last month. It’s clear he wants to give McCarthy until the end of the season. As unlikely as a turnaround appears, I think Jones wants to allow McCarthy the opportunity to finish it out.
Another factor is there is no obvious replacement on the coaching staff. It just doesn’t make much sense to move on from McCarthy other than making a change to make a change.
I would be surprised if Jones changes his mind in the upcoming weeks, but it is Jerry Jones, so anything is possible. — Jon Machota, Cowboys beat writer
Would McCarthy’s firing change the offense?
While Jones speaks highly of McCarthy when asked about him, it’s important to keep a couple of factors in mind. The first is that McCarthy is not only the head coach of the team but he’s essentially the offensive coordinator, even though Brian Schottenheimer holds the title, and the play caller. This offense is his system.
If Jones fired McCarthy midseason, the Cowboys would need to figure out a plan for the offense. Even though somebody like Schottenheimer could finish the season in that role, it wouldn’t change much, conceptually, for the Cowboys, especially without Prescott being available. — Saad Yousuf, Cowboys beat writer
(Photo: Kelley L. Cox / Imagn Images)
