Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seemingly gave head coach Mike McCarthy a vote of confidence on Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean he will secure a contract extension.
“What I’m not going to do this morning is get into any indication that I’m not interested in having Mike back,” Jones told KRLD-FM in Dallas (h/t Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein). “I assure you I have been, for weeks, thinking about how we go forward.
“I feel good about Mike McCarthy.”
Ed Werder of WFAA-TV in Dallas noted it’s “odd” Jones still hasn’t re-signed McCarthy, who’s in the final year of his contract.
McCarthy seems uncertain about his future with the club. In his Monday news conference, the coach said both parties would discuss it after the Cowboys’ regular-season finale.
“I need to make sure I’m doing exactly what I’m asking everybody else to do: We need to finish the race,” McCarthy said. “We’ll have time to talk about that next week.”
The Cowboys are 7-9 and have already been eliminated from the playoffs. To cut McCarthy slack, quarterback Dak Prescott (hamstring) and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (shoulder) suffered season-ending injuries.
McCarthy and Co. have won 12 regular-season games in three of their past four seasons. He also won a Super Bowl as the Green Bay Packers’ head coach from 2006-18.
Unsurprisingly, he may have other options. Fox Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer recently said, “[McCarthy] would be on other teams’ wish lists if the Cowboys don’t re-sign him.”
That won’t make the Cowboys rush. Per Epstein, Jones said, “I’m not under any unusual time frame at all” when asked if he feels pressure to make a quick decision.
The Cowboys host the Washington Commanders (11-5) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The matchup seems pivotal for McCarthy. It could be his last opportunity to prove Dallas should keep him.
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