Your Sunday morning Cowboys news.
Cowboys Rumors: Team Doing ‘Homework’ on HC Candidates amid Mike McCarthy Buzz – Adam Wells, Bleacher Report
Cowboys are doing their due diligence on other coaches ahead of Black Monday.
Even though Jerry Jones has left the door open for Mike McCarthy to potentially return next season, the Dallas Cowboys are keeping their options open with the regular season coming to an end on Sunday.
Per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Cowboys have started doing “homework” on potential candidates if they either don’t bring McCarthy back or can’t agree to terms on an extension before his contract expires on Jan. 14.
Jones has already said nothing that happens in Week 18 is going to have an impact either way on McCarthy’s status.
“The hay is in the barn, really, as far as our staff is concerned and the qualities of each of the coaches. I don’t think that something that would happen out here Sunday would impact where we are going to be as we go forward,” Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan (h/t Fox 4 News). “It doesn’t have any effort on my part to look and see the positives of what we’ve had as a team under Mike McCarthy.”
The expiration date on McCarthy’s contract is notable because it gives the Cowboys a window of nine days after Sunday’s season finale to exclusively negotiate with him and deny potential requests from other teams that might want to speak with him.
The Bears are one of three teams that currently have a coaching vacancy, along with the New York Jets and New Orleans Saints. Other jobs that could become available include the Las Vegas Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants.
The real reason why Cowboys seem undecided on Mike McCarthy’s future – Reid Hanson, Cowboys Wire
Uncovering the real reason for Dallas being unsure of what do with head coach.
The idea of Jerry Jones still being undecided on the future of Mike McCarthy sounds preposterous. Jones has nearly five full seasons of data with McCarthy to reference so it’s unlikely one more seemingly meaningless game is going to sway the Dallas Cowboys’ owner in either direction.
If Jones values regular season success most, he should be thrilled with McCarthy. McCarthy had posted three consecutive 12-win seasons as head coach in Dallas and routinely ranked at the top of the league in offense, which just happens to be his bread and butter. Bringing McCarthy back under this circumstance should be a no-brainer.
If Jones prioritizes postseason success, he should be severely disappointed in his head coach. Despite being handed a ready-made Super Bowl contender, McCarthy hasn’t been able to do any better than the coach who failed before him. He’s routinely lost in embarrassing fashion and has been out-schemed in nearly every instance. Under this circumstance letting McCarthy walk would be a no-brainer.
It seems the only thing this situation can’t be is an undecided matter, yet a deeper look at the coaching carousel this offseason may make the case for just that.
Major multimillion dollar corporations rarely make a change at CEO unless they have a better option in mind. Unless they’re simply looking for a scapegoat for a particularly bad situation, they only make a move if it’s for an upgrade. If the Cowboys were seeking to achieve the former (scapegoat) they probably would have cut bait with McCarthy after the debacle against Green Bay last postseason. Whereas if the Cowboys are more focused on an upgrade, they are probably just waiting for a more promising alternative to pop up this winter.
Cowboys’ veteran has choice words ahead of free agency – Mario Herrera Jr., Inside the Star
Cowboys impending free agent speaks candidly before the final game of the season.
CB Jourdan Lewis is one of the most consistent players the Cowboys have had on defense since he was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Dallas was much maligned for this draft because it was the infamous Taco Charlton draft, but nobody pays attention to the absolute gem the Cowboys drafted in the 3rd round of the same draft.
Lewis didn’t make the Pro Bowl this season, but that won’t dull his shine. He has had a great season, recording 66 tackles, three tackles for loss, one forced fumble, 1.0 sacks, 7 passes defensed, and one interception.
Dallascowboys.com writer Patrik “No C” Walker caught up with Lewis and asked him about his pending free agency as a cornerstone of the Cowboys defense. Lewis’ answer should make Cowboys fans feel good.
Once you start focusing on things {ahead of you}, you start missing things that are right on front of you. We still have a week of preparation to beat Washington, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t understand the value in this game for me and the value in the offseason, but I still have to focus on what’s right in front of me. That’s how you get to have a good season–focus on what’s in front of you. That’s what I plan to do this week.
Lewis is human, and although he tried to deflect, I find it hard to believe he hasn’t thought of his upcoming free agency. His response is exactly why the Cowboys should want him back on the team until he’s ready to retire. His no-nonsense, business approach to the game should be envied by all other players.
Cowboys doghouse: 2024 RB plan in Dallas was doomed from the start – Matthew Lenix Jr., Blogging the Boys
Better late than never, but the Cowboys botched their running back depth chart terribly .
The Dallas Cowboys had a ton of issues heading into last offseason. One that was at the forefront was the running back position and what their plan was going forward. Tony Pollard was set to be a free agent, and the 2024 NFL Draft had quite the selection of players at running back that Dallas could have chosen from. When free agency came, the Cowboys let Pollard walk and sign with the Tennessee Titans. They also went through the entire draft without selecting a running back and signed Nathaniel Peat as an undrafted rookie free agent.
They brought in veteran Royce Freeman to compete, and signed former first-round pick Ezekiel Elliott for his second stint with the organization. Lastly, back in August, the Cowboys signed veteran Dalvin Cook to their practice squad. By the time the regular season came around, Peat and Freeman were no longer on the roster. This left the Cowboys with Elliott and Cook, two veterans that had seen better days. Deuce Vaughn, who hadn’t consistently shown anything yet, was also on the roster. Then, there was Rico Dowdle, who hadn’t proven that he could consistently stay healthy. That wasn’t exactly an ideal situation at the running back spot.
What made this situation so frustrating is that it was completely avoidable. Although the Cowboys didn’t have a fourth-round selection, there was plenty of running back talent on the board in the first three rounds, and not getting one was a total lack of evaluating the room as a whole. However, that was the way Dallas wanted to move, which would once again put more responsibility on quarterback Dak Prescott and the passing game.
Elliott got the start in the season opener against the Cleveland Browns, and to his credit, he looked pretty decent running for 40 yards on 10 carries. Over the next four games, though, Elliott averaged less than three yards per carry in three of them. Meanwhile, Dowdle put up over four yards per carry in each, which included an 87-yard performance in a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is around the time that Elliott voiced his frustration with his role with the team. As a result, although he averaged five yards per carry against the Detroit Lions the next week, Dowdle only got five attempts while Elliott got eight. Mind you, he only amassed two yards per attempt. The Cowboys offense was already limited with a lack of talent and no real plan when it came to running the ball, but to purposely not use your most effective runner didn’t make any sense.
Dowdle didn’t play against the San Francisco 49ers due to an illness. The Cowboys finally smarten up and made Dowdle the unquestioned lead back in November, which is when he took off. He goes into the final week of the season with four 100-yard games in the last five weeks, and he’s also hit the 1,000 yard mark for the year. While that’s great for Dowdle, seeing as he’s in a contract year, he may have priced himself out of Dallas with how frugal they are in free agency. So, if he is to go elsewhere, the Cowboys will once again be left in dire straits at the running back position.
