The Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars don't always have a ton in common, but both of them find themselves with coaches on the hot seat, as Mike McCarthy and Doug Pederson are both running out of road. This could be their final seasons with their current employers.
McCarthy was handed a team expected to compete for championships, and Dallas looks nowhere close to achieving that goal. Pederson was supposed to help Trevor Lawrence keep improving, but he has started to regress after signing a $55 million per year contract extension amid the offense around him completely breaking down.
Both of these situations have drawn the eye of Bill Belichick, who has reinvented himself as an analyst during his 2024 caching sabbatical. If both the Jaguars and Cowboys fire their coaches, which is looking more likely by the day, Jacksonville might have an edge in wooing him.
Jacksonville's Monday Night implosion against the Buffalo Bills could force owner Shad Khan to make major changes, including parting ways with much-maligned GM Trent Baalke. This would give Belichick an opportunity to have the final say over both coaching and personnel matters, something Jerry Jones would never let him do.
Jaguars could steal Bill Belichick from Cowboys with GM powers
Jones' ironclad grip on the roster, which has only tightened in the last few years, is unlikely to be loosened up by Belichick, even if he slams his six Super Bowl rings on Jerry's desk. If Belichick and Robert Kraft had some tense meetings, imagine the knockdown-dragout fights he and Jones could get into.
While both Lawrence and Prescott are expensive, Lawrence is both younger and cheaper. Belichick will also get a very promising top pick and extra leeway in terms of building his ideal team, while Belichick wouldn't have as much roster flexibility when coming to Dallas.
If Jones wouldn't let Bill Parcells "shop for the groceries" and handle personnel matters, it seems unlikely he will concede those duties to Belichick despite his old age. The Jaguars, a historically unsuccessful franchise, are more receptive of the Belichick way and his desire to have the final say on all matters.
Belichick is still angling for a return to coaching, but he isn't going to take a reduced role after six championships. Anyone the Cowboys hire will have to take a subservient role to Jones, which has shown to be very problematic over the last few years.
