Shocker as Dallas Cowboys make Mike McCarthy decision and Jerry Jones explains why

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Evidently, it’s not the right time to make a change in Dallas.

At least that’s the message coming from Jerry Jones Wednesday, with the Dallas Cowboys owner announcing that he’s keeping Mike McCarthy on as head coach in 2024.

McCarthy still had another year left on his contract with America’s Team.

However, there was widespread speculation that Jones would seek a new head coach after the Cowboys were manhandled by the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round last weekend.

McCarthy’s Benefit

Jones apparently doesn’t give in to public pressure because almost everyone outside of the Cowboys wanted McCarthy out.

In a team statement on Wednesday, Jones explained his reasoning for retaining McCarthy.

“I believe this team is very close and capable of achieving our ultimate goals, and the best step forward for us will be with Mike McCarthy as our head coach,” said Jones.

“There is great benefit to continuing the team’s progress under Mike’s leadership as our head coach.”

News of McCarthy’s return comes just a few days after the Cowboys owner called their playoff exit one of the most surprising he’s ever witnessed.

Bill Belichick was the biggest name floated around and the popular choice among Cowboy fans.

“I am accountable for our results,” says Jones.

“The lens we use to view and evaluate Coach McCarthy is holistic. While we’re all disappointed with the result on Sunday and with our playoff record, I am 100% supportive of him as our head coach and ability to reach our goals.”

McCarthy is 42-25 in the regular season as Cowboys head coach, winning two NFC East titles in that span.

However, he’s just 1-3 in the postseason since replacing Jason Garrett with Dallas failing to make it beyond the Divisional Round since 1995.

Moving Forward

While McCarthy’s return answers one big question, it doesn’t mean the same staff will be around.

The biggest question mark after McCarthy is the status of Dan Quinn.

Word is the Cowboys defensive coordinator is fielding calls about vacant head coaching jobs in Seattle among other places.

Even if Quinn doesn’t land a head coaching job, he may not be back in Dallas.

That may seem like a rash decision to fire him, but sometimes a weak moment is all it takes for you to get the boot.

McCarthy’s offense scored most of their points in garbage time on Sunday, cutting into the deficit before the half though.

The defense, however, couldn’t keep that momentum going, and a lot of the blame for that is on Quinn.

Going forward, I’m not sure who McCarthy’s offensive and defensive coordinators will be.

McCarthy showed he could call the offensive plays effectively in the regular season.

Brian Schottenheimer, however came in to help the running game.

Tony Pollard was the weakest link in the offense all season and Schottenheimer is partly to blame.

Might they consider bringing back Kellen Moore in some capacity to improve their red zone woes?

There’ll be a new Chargers head coach soon, and there’s no guarantee whoever it is will retain Moore.

Defensively, a strong internal candidate deserves a promotion very soon.

Al Harris has done tremendous things with the secondary, developing two ballhawks in Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland.

We may now know who the head coach will be next season, but Jones needs to address plenty of other issues this offseason.