The latest news surrounding the Dallas Cowboys.
What Cowboys’ denial of Bears’ interview request indicates for Mike McCarthy, Jerry Jones – David Moore, DMN
Insiders deny any friction between Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy.
Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy sat down to talk Tuesday.
Later in the day, the Cowboys denied Chicago’s request to interview McCarthy for its head coaching vacancy.
The two are related, based on what two people with knowledge of the impending discussions told The Dallas Morning News after the Bears made their request.
[…]
If the Cowboys had granted permission immediately, it would have been a signal to McCarthy that Jones wasn’t committed to bringing him back. It would have been ushering the veteran coach to the exit ramp.
If McCarthy had asked to speak to Chicago, it would have been an indication to Jones that the coach wasn’t committed to staying or was angling to use the Bears as a bargaining chip for more money.
[…]
For all of the noise and speculation that swirls outside of the organization, one person after another at The Star attests to the strong relationship that Jones and McCarthy have forged in their five years together. Denying Chicago’s request isn’t a guarantee that McCarthy will return, but it’s an indication that both men are continuing the discussion to see if that can happen.
Mike McCarthy contract: Adam Schefter updates talks with Cowboys after Bears interview denied – Nick Schultz, On3.com
The coaching decision delay may mean talks are in the works.
With six days to go in the exclusive negotiating window, all eyes are on what the Dallas Cowboys decide on Mike McCarthy’s future. He coached this season in the final year of his contract, and the spotlight grew even bigger after the franchise denied the Chicago Bears’ request to interview him for their head coach position.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided an update on where things stand, and the sense seems to be the two sides aren’t close on a new agreement yet. However, he pointed to a couple examples to show why the Cowboys could be waiting to get McCarthy’s deal in place.
Dallas took its time getting deals together for Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb ahead of the 2024 season. Schefter indicated that could happen again with McCarthy’s deal before teams can interview him without permission from the Cowboys.
“It doesn’t sound like he’s any closer to a deal with the Dallas Cowboys currently, but we’ve seen the Dallas Cowboys always wait until the last minute on these types of deals,” Schefter said on NFL Live. “Go back to the start of the regular season, Dak Prescott signs on the day the regular season kicks off. CeeDee Lamb [signed] late in the summer.
“Usually, these situations seem to linger until there is some sort of artificial deadline. With Mike McCarthy being able to interview next week after Jan. 14, I would think at some time here, in the next couple of days, the Dallas Cowboys would step forward to see whether or not there is a solution for both sides to figure out whether Mike McCarthy can stay in [Dallas].”
Mailbag: Health and future of Lawrence? – Mickey Spagnola & Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
One of Dallas’ top defenders may now be facing an uncertain future.
I haven’t heard much about the health and future of DeMarcus Lawrence. Do you have any insight on what’s going on with him and the Cowboys? – Anthony Cardamoni/Eatontown, NJ
Mickey: Saw Tank in the locker room on Monday when the players were going through their exit physicals and final team meeting. Didn’t want to talk about his future. But I’m told his foot injury (Lis Franc) was a wee bit shy of having surgery.
Since he didn’t, think if there was something of significance on the line late in the season, he might have been able to return. Since there wasn’t in the end, no sense chancing going out there, especially since he’s in the final year of his contract and reaching unrestricted free agency. Remember he was asked a month or so ago if he wanted to continue playing and his answer was, somewhat tongue in cheek with a big smile on his face, saying, “Depends on how much they want to pay me.”
While D-Law has played 11seasons in the NFL, he only turns 33 in April. Despite only playing four games in 2024, his three sacks ranked sixth on the team. Right situation, right money, he just might return.
Tommy: From the get-go with Lawrence back in Week 4 when he sustained his injury, it was clear from Mike McCarthy and Stephen Jones that it would sideline him for quite some time.
That ended up being the whole season, which I interpreted as an opportunity for him to use the offseason as an extended period to get fully healthy. He’s an unrestricted, 32 year old free agent heading into his 12th NFL season, so that additional time to heal is valuable in my opinion.
Whether he returns to the Cowboys or not, that’ll be crucial for him. And when we’ve seen him briefly working with the rehab group at practice, he still looks as athletic as ever.
Report: Dallas Cowboys did head coach work ‘behind the scenes’ over last few weeks – RJ Ochoa, BloggingTheBoys.com
No clear decision has been made, but it seems head coaching work has been done.
It is the third official day of the offseason for the Dallas Cowboys and it feels like the 500th.
The 2024 campaign came to a merciful end on Sunday afternoon for Dallas, and in the time since they have seen many of their fellow NFL teams begin the process of reconstructing their organizations in the hopes of not suffering a similar fate in the future. The Cowboys have not so far.
Following the game Jerry noted that he had not made a decision on Mike McCarthy. One day later, Monday to be clear, the Chicago Bears requested to interview him for their head coach vacancy. It took over 24 hours for the Cowboys to respond, but they did so on Tuesday evening by declining the request. This suggests, although does not prove, that they may be leaning towards retaining McCarthy.
Interestingly, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini injected a new sort of variable into this discussion in an appearance on Pardon My Take as she noted that the Cowboys have been doing head coach work “behind the scenes” in recent weeks.
“I think the chances of him staying in Dallas are fair, like I think that could happen. Look I know that they did a little bit of work on some head coaches, behind the scenes, over the last few weeks. So it wouldn’t shock me if they also move on.”
“I just don’t like how they’re going about their business. How, they’re just kind of hanging him out to dry right now, trying to figure out what he’s going to do next. This entire year was really hard if you’re him. Of not knowing what’s going to be next.”
“Look I think if Mike McCarthy does wind up moving on or Dallas, Jerry says yea we’re going to go in a different direction… I 100% think he has a good shot at getting that Chicago Bears job.”
To be perfectly clear, it makes full and total sense that the Cowboys would be exploring their options. As noted it has been well-known that McCarthy’s contract is set to expire.
It also makes sense that Dallas would be doing this work “behind the scenes” so as not to ruffle any feathers. Ultimately though, this whole saga is representative of a group that cannot make up their mind or is truly this indecisive. Another world could exist where they pursued a candidate who they uncovered, and feel like it might not be a situation that goes the way they want which has led to this weird sort of purgatory.
