Over the weekend the Dallas Cowboys suffered a heartbreaking 27-20 loss at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The loss moved the Cowboys to 5-8 on the season and while they're not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the team would need a miracle to make the postseason. After entering the season with Super Bowl aspirations, the future of head coach Mike McCarthy is very much in question.
That question was posed to Cowboys executive Stephen Jones on Wednesday afternoon. When evaluating McCarthy's performance this season, Jones admitted he believes the coach has done "outstanding."
“I think he’s done outstanding. Our guys are playing hard. He’s got them competing. That was a tough game the other night. Guys played hard," he said, via Cowboys reporter Jon Machota. Guys are competing. Hats off to Mike. You look around the league sometimes and see a lot of teams that start like that and they’re thinking about next year. But Mike has everybody focused on winning each and every game.”
When asked about McCarthy's future, Jones said, “We’re talking about the next game."
When asked about the possibility of replacing Mike McCarthy with a coach like Bill Belihcick, Jones parroted his earlier response. “Like I said, we’re worried about the next game," he said.
Dallas sits three games behind the Washington Commanders for the final Wild Card spot in the NFC playoff race - with just four games remaining. The Cowboys close out the season with games against the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles and Commanders.
With a likely missed playoff appearance in the final year of his contract, it's fair to wonder if Mike McCarthy will return next season. For now, the Cowboys aren't willing to move on from the Super Bowl winner just yet.
