Something Has To Change, But Cowboys’ Head Coach Mike McCarthy Will Probably Be Back Next Season

The Dallas Cowboys haven’t made it past the divisional round since their last Super Bowl in 1996.

They’ve made the playoffs 12 times since, including the past three years, and have just five Wild Card wins to show for it. Worse than that, the Cowboys got blown out by the Green Bay Packers last December as the second seed – for context, the seventh seed had never in NFL history beaten the second seed before that meeting.

The loss was humiliating, and it raised red flags in a number of areas of the organization: the players, the culture, the coaching. These flags got more pressing as the 2024-25 season commenced, and the Cowboys began to lose even their regular-season success, following a blowout season opener against the Cleveland Browns by going 2-7 in their next nine.

Sitting at 3-7, head coach Mike McCarthy was pretty clearly in the hot seat. Newly extended star quarterback Dak Prescott was ruled out for the rest of the season, and key pieces, including Trevon Diggs, Zack Martin and DeMarcus Lawrence, all missed time.

Then the Cowboys won four of their next five, and things became a lot less clear.

Their fourth win came on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that controlled their destiny to the NFC South title and a playoff spot. Although the Cowboys had been eliminated from postseason contention just before the game as the Commanders beat the Eagles, they pulled out a gutsy win from all areas of the roster, highlighting the growth of their young depth players.

“Proud of those guys. They wouldn’t give it up out there. So I’m real, real proud of them,” said owner Jerry Jones following the game. “And Mike McCarthy, he just won’t let them not think they’re playing for the Super Bowl out there. He won’t let them do it. So proud of that.”

Jones isn’t alone in his praise of McCarthy, either. Prescott voiced his desire for McCarthy to return as recently as last week, and he was joined in that by Micah Parsons.

“I would like a fair shot with everyone back – players, coaches – because the injuries kind of struck of what this season could really be,” said Parsons. He praised his own relationship with McCarthy, which has grown more visible as younger players like himself and Ceedee Lamb have had to take up leadership responsibilities.

Parsons, one of the best linebackers the NFL has to offer, is due for a contract extension this offseason as well.

Despite a horrible start, the Cowboys have been able to flip the narrative at least somewhat – and that’s not nothing. Their shift in momentum, pulling wins out without a quarter of their starting roster, owes itself in no small part to the locker room and coaching. McCarthy, for all his playoff woes, is proving and promising something: a winning culture.

The decision ultimately lies in Jones’ hands. Still, the optics look good for McCarthy, particularly as details continue to come out about players like Lamb stepping up and playing through injury despite an effectively lost season.

“We started the conversation talking about how good a job, I think, with the circumstances that we’ve been dealing with, how good a job the coaching staff is doing,” Jones said.

“It’s led by Mike McCarthy. And that’s what we’re doing. I’m saying just what I’m saying. I’m very impressed with how this team and how it’s playing, and the level of tenacity, and I’m impressed with the fact we’ve got a lot of young players getting a lot of experience out there. The future looks bright there with those players.”

Dallas will cap off its season with games against divisional rivals: at the Eagles on Dec. 30 and at home versus the Commanders on Jan. 5.