Dallas Cowboys Part Ways With Head Coach Mike McCarthy: Report

As the only negotiating window closes at midnight on Tuesday, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy hasn’t had any talks about a new contract, ESPN reported on Monday.

McCarthy will officially become a free agent at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday if no new agreement is reached. Both the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints are said to be interested in speaking with him to fill their coaching vacancies. Last week, the Bears requested permission to interview McCarthy, but the Cowboys denied the request.

Thus far, only the New England Patriots have announced a new head coach since the season ended, bringing in Mike Vrabel to lead the team.

McCarthy’s Recent Talks With The Cowboys

Over the past week, McCarthy reportedly had several meetings with Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones as well as executive vice president Stephen Jones. The three apparently spoke at least three times, with early conversations aimed at discussing the team’s 2024 season through standard end-of-season review. Later discussions were over possible changes in the Cowboys’ roster-building approach and also on how McCarthy runs his offense and modifies his coaching staff.

The current scenario is similar to 2019, when then-Cowboys coach Jason Garrett finished the season with an expiring contract. In that year, the Cowboys waited a week after the season was over—and after interviewing candidates that included McCarthy and Marvin Lewis—before announcing Garrett would not return. McCarthy was named head coach 10 days after the season ended.

A Disappointing 2024 Season

The Cowboys ended the 2024 season with a record of 7-10 and did not qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the year 2020. McCarthy has a regular-season record of 49-35 but a disappointing playoff record of 1-3.

The season went worse when significant injuries were suffered to the key players in a succession of series of mishaps. Quarterback Dak Prescott, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, guard Zack Martin, cornerback Trevon Diggs, and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb all ended their season on the injured reserve list. Pro Bowl linebacker Micah Parsons missed four games due to an ankle injury while cornerback DaRon Bland sat out 11 games due to a foot injury.

Despite a midseason rally in which the team won four of five games, the Cowboys struggled all season. Early in the year, they lost their first five home games by a combined 118 points. After being eliminated from postseason contention, they dropped their final two games of the year.

How all this plays out also casts uncertainty over the remainder of the Cowboys’ coaching staff. None of the assistant coaches are under contract, and their window to negotiate also closes tonight at midnight.

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