Barry Reeger-Imagn Images The latest news surrounding the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas Cowboys surprisingly aren’t the NFL’s most disappointing team – Josh Sanchez, Sports Illustrated Saying the Cowboys aren’t the most disappointing team this season is surprising. While the Cowboys have been a major disappointment, they are not the league’s most disappointing team, according to CBS Sports. “Dallas had the fifth-best odds in the NFC prior to the season. Heading into Week 11, the Cowboys are not only barely in contention for the NFC East, but also three games out of the final playoff berth,” the report reads. As a result of their underperforming, the Cowboys are ranked as the second-most disappointing team in the NFL through 10 weeks, surpassed only by the New York Jets. Mailbag: Time to let Martin get healthy? – Tommy Yarrish, Mickey Spagnola, DallasCowboys.com The season’s is all but decided, is it time to save us from ourselves? I consider Zack Martin one of the greatest players in Cowboys history. He should be in the Hall of Fame someday. But he’s clearly hurting and not himself. Is it time to sit him out a game or two and let him get healthy? Obviously, he doesn’t want to sit, and the team will only be worse without him, but I hate seeing this great player struggle, especially when they’re losing anyway. – Steven Morris/Louisville, KY Mickey: That sounds like a very compassionate thought on your part, and Zack is battling through that shoulder injury, because it’s not like him to miss the padded practice on Thursday that he did this past week. But you must factor in who would be taking his place, and at this time the guy would be T.J. Bass, a second-year guard who came into the NFL as a rookie free agent last year with just three starts under his belt as an injury replacement. Also, must consider increasing the lack of experience on the offensive line if Martin isn’t out there, and with youngsters starting at left tackle and center, and now then at right guard might be creating a worse problem. Now if he’s injured to the point he can’t play, then that is another story. Tommy: Obviously if Zack Martin is hurt enough to the point where it would be detrimental for him physically to be playing, then you absolutely sit him. If this is just your normal mid-season banged up though, then he’s the best option you have at right guard even though time is starting to catch up to him. You’re absolutely right that it’s not fun seeing great players struggle, but all great players have and will struggle throughout their career. This is just, unfortunately, seeming like the time in Martin’s career where you start to see those signs build up. Cowboys’ Jake Ferguson takes blame in stadium sunlight debacle, has faith in backups after losing Dak Prescott – Jordan Dajani, CBS Sports Prescott’s security blanket has faith in his entire quarterback room. Despite the slow start to the second half of the season, the Cowboys still have confidence. Tight end Jake Ferguson voiced his support for Rush and Lance when speaking with CBS Sports this week. “I have all the faith in the world in those two,” Ferguson said. “I tell everybody, my first NFL touchdown was from Cooper Rush. The way those two approach the game, the way they approach each day getting into the facilities … the meetings, the practices, whatever it may be, the walk-throughs. Those guys are approaching it full steam ahead with supreme confidence. And my job as 1/11ths of the offense is not only to do my job at the best level that I can, but also to give them that confidence that, ‘Hey, I can throw the ball to 87 if I need to …’” One of the big storylines to come out of the Cowboys’ loss to the Eagles was the sun. Yes, the big ball of fire in the sky. With Dallas playing in the late afternoon, the sun was peeking through the windows of AT&T Stadium, which caused some problems for CeeDee Lamb in the end zone. After missing a touchdown catch due to the glare, Lamb told reporters he is “one thousand percent” in favor of blackout curtains being used for Cowboys home games. Ferguson, who was somewhat a part of this now infamous “sun drop,” actually took responsibility for the fiasco that it has evolved into. “You know, I wasn’t standing where CeeDee was. I wasn’t seeing what he was seeing,” Ferguson said. “In my eyes, I think I should have caught that ball. If you watch the video back, you can kind of see me in the area. If I reach my hands out and catch that ball, the whole country isn’t having this conversation. So in my eyes, I should have caught that ball. In my eyes, I also should have finished the route. I stopped in the route and came back. I shouldn’t have done that, I should keep stretching it. But like I said, in my eyes I should have caught that ball.” 10 Cowboys head coaching candidates to replace Mike McCarthy – David Howman, BloggingTheBoys.com We all know how Black Monday will go this year, so let’s look at possible replacements. This begs the question of who might replace McCarthy when, not if, the job becomes available. Looking around the league, there are quite a few hot names in the coaching world that could be contenders in Dallas. While there will surely be some interest among fans in plucking a coach from the college ranks (Deion Sanders, anyone?), Jerry Jones has been pretty adamant that such a move can’t work in the modern NFL. Without further ado, and as the regular season keeps on rolling, here are 10 names to watch as potential candidates for the top job with America’s Team. Ben Johnson Current role: Lions offensive coordinator The skinny: Ben Johnson has been the hottest head coaching

Brett Davis-Imagn Images Should the Cowboys consider getting ahead of things a bit (lol) and sign Rico Dowdle to an extension? Disaster is a fair word to describe the Dallas Cowboys 2024 season. After entering the season with lofty expectations, the Cowboys are all but eliminated from the playoff race as we sit in at the second week of November. It’s been a while since the Cowboys have had to endure a season like this. 2020 was a bad year, but Dak Prescott’s injury in Week 5 gave Dallas a chance to have some optimism things would have gone differently if he was healthy. While Prescott suffered a season-ending injury again this season, it was very clear that even with their star quarterback, the Cowboys were not going anywhere this year. While this season has not produced many positive developments, a few players have exceeded expectations and given Dallas some hope for the future. One of those players has been 26-year-old running back Rico Dowdle. Dowdle, who many believe would serve as Dallas’ true number one running back this year, has been given fewer opportunities than expected but has produced at a high level when he’s been on the field. On the season, Dowdle has carried the ball 83 times for 374 yards, an average of 4.5 Y/A, and recorded career-highs in first down runs (21) and rushing success rate. (55.4) Rico Dowdle looking good todaypic.twitter.com/y5MiMUe7sK — Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) November 10, 2024 #Cowboys Rico Dowdle among all running backs for Week 9 (pre-MNF): • 58.3% success rate – (4th)• +3.0 rush EPA – (4th)• 6.3 yards per carry – (2nd)• 3 rushes of 10+ yards – (T-2nd) Rico needs a minimum of 20 touches a game. (via NFL Pro) pic.twitter.com/fcAEThb1A8 — Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) November 5, 2024 There is a clear difference in explosiveness between Dowdle and the Cowboys’ other running backs. The 26-year-old has an 8.5% explosive rush rate, which isn’t anything all that special, but when you consider how much the Cowboys have struggled to run the ball this season it’s much more impressive. Dallas’ other two primary running backs, Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott, have explosive rush rates of 0% and 2.1% respectively. Dallas’ run game as a whole is going to need a complete overhaul this spring, but adding multiple running backs and offensive linemen in one single offseason may not be a realistic option. While he may not be one of the top running backs in the league, Dowdle has proven he is capable of being a valuable piece of an effective rushing attack. It would benefit the Cowboys greatly to lock him up long-term to take one thing off their offseason to-do list. If the Cowboys were to sign Dowdle to an extension, it wouldn’t break the bank. Devin Singletary, a similar runner production-wise to Dowdle, signed a three-year, $16.5M deal with the New York Giants last offseason. Dallas could likely lock up Dowdle with a similar type of offer only costing them $5-6M a year. Signing Rico Dowdle to an extension isn’t going to be the singular move that thrust Dallas back into Super Bowl contention next season. However, it would help lessen their load this offseason and would allow them to pair him with another free agent or draft pick at the position.

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images The Cowboys seem to feel confident in Ezekiel Elliott. The Dallas Cowboys made the decision to basically ignore the running back position this offseason despite losing Tony Pollard in free agency. However, they did bring back an old friend, Ezekiel Elliott. As much as it was a head-scratcher considering Elliott is simply not the same guy anymore. nor did it boost the running back room to a high degree, the Cowboys wanted, or should I say Jerry Jones, to make the two-time rushing champion a part of their committee approach. No matter how anyone felt, Elliott being back in Dallas made sense if they used him a certain way as in letting him be a short yardage and goal line type of guy to keep the chains moving and punch the ball in end zone. However, after two months of the season, Elliott isn’t even being used in those situations regularly, making his role a pretty useless one. On top of that, Elliott recently had a talk with the organization about his role or lack thereof, which led to him getting more carries than Rico Dowdle against the Detroit Lions although the latter was coming off of the best game of his career with 87 yards. After the bye week, Elliott would get the start against the San Francisco 49ers due to Dowdle being a late scratch because of being sick, but he only managed a pedestrian 34 yards on 10 carries. Then, things got even more messy around Elliott’s return. Before the Cowboys took on the Atlanta Falcons, it was reported that Elliott and the team mutually agreed that he would miss the game due to disciplinary reasons. Come to find out, the situation had been boiling over as Elliott has exhibited habitual tardiness and has missed three team meetings with the one the Friday before the Falcons game pushing things over the edge. That was a complete shocker to everyone, considering that one of Elliott’s strengths has always been that he was a locker room guy, but this type of behavior is the complete opposite of that. Last week, the Cowboys took on the hated Philadelphia Eagles at home. Near the end of the second quarter, Dallas had a first-and-goal at the six-yard line in a 7-3 game. Elliott was given the opportunity to give the Cowboys the lead, but he fumbled the ball into the endzone for a touchback. There’s quite a bit to unpack here, but none of it is positive. Not only is Elliott not performing well at what he was brought back to do, but he’s also not being a leader with how he’s handling preparation before game days. It’s just been a mess when it comes to Elliott and his reunion with the team. It’s clear that both sides need to part ways no matter how much Jerry Jones says he’s seen good things from Elliott. It’s a mystery as to what he’s talking about because Elliott is averaging a career-low 3.2 yards per rush. Elliott will always have a positive legacy with the team given everything he gave to the franchise in his first run with the team. It’s just what he brings to the table now, and what the Cowboys need, just don’t match anymore.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images From the field to the locker room, Mike McCarthy’s influence on the Cowboys isn’t working. Another week, another embarrassing home loss for the Dallas Cowboys. A predictably one-sided, 34-6 defeat from the Philadelphia Eagles hardly moved the needle on where the team is at this season. But how the loss happened further indicates just how badly Dallas needs to move on from head coach Mike McCarthy. You don’t lose by 28 at home without a group effort, but McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer’s offense was more complicit by far. Between Cooper Rush and Trey Lance’s work at quarterback, Dallas managed just 49 passing yards and a 49.1 passer rating against Philly. Five turnovers, four fumbles and one interception, showed the Cowboys’ offense to be completely out of sorts. As we’ve harped on all season, a lack of ingenuity in design and play-calling didn’t give Dallas’ outmatched roster any chance against the Eagles’ superior talent. It was only 14-6 at halftime because the defense did their best. DeMarvion Overshown was a menace, Micah Parsons returned with solid work, and Trevon Diggs got one of his classic interceptions to stop an Eagles drive in the endzone. But even with such a manageable halftime score on paper, there was never a point that you felt much hope of Dallas pulling off the upset. This void of optimism is directly linked to McCarthy. There’s no sense that he has a handle on things anymore, either in the X’s and O’s of running an offense, head coaching basics like clock management and challenging plays, or managing the team’s chemistry and culture. Parsons’ well-covered postgame comments may not have been intended to blast the coach’s effort, but the words still came out the way they did. And the reason they resonated is because McCarthy does seem like a guy who’s phoning it in. Or worse, a guy who’s now so bad at his job that you can’t tell the difference. We never saw the team look this bad, on the field or backstage, under Jason Garrett. We never saw Cooper Rush look this bad when Kellen Moore was offensive coordinator. People want to make such a big deal about McCarthy’s three-straight seasons with 12 wins, but let’s not pretend that Garrett wasn’t a 2015 Tony Romo injury away from a similar feat from 2014-2016. McCarthy’s highs haven’t been any higher than previous coaching regimes, and his lows are starting to look much lower. A midseason firing probably isn’t happening at this point. Jerry Jones seems more stubborn than ever about doing things his way, whether it’s blinding his own players with sunlight in the stadium or hanging on to a head coach who’s team is just not competitive. What Jerry decides here is about what he wants to do, not what he should do. He should absolutely fire McCarthy. He should have done it after the playoff loss last January, but at this point there’s no room for debate. The entire atmosphere around the team has become putrid and dragging your fans through two more months of garbage is just negligence. Firing McCarthy isn’t about saving this season but rather saving some goodwill for the future. We’ve reached the “it can’t get any worse” point with Mike McCarthy’s run in Dallas. Getting outclassed by the next generation of coaches is one thing, but now he’s proven to be counter-productive to winning football games. Maybe that’s what you want if you’re focused on 2025 draft positioning, but it could cost you the morale and loyalty of your roster and fanbase along the way.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images While not shocking, reports are starting to swirl that Mike McCarthy’s future with the Cowboys beyond this season is in doubt. The Dallas Cowboys are in the middle, nine games played with eight to go, of one of the more frustrating seasons that they have had in quite some time. Games played these days seem to only exist as opportunities for the opponents to rack up points and experience joy while the Cowboys themselves float in the wind and set historically bad mark after historically bad mark. Put simply this is one of those seasons, we have all lived through them, that you just can’t wait to see end. When this whole thing does reach its merciful conclusion it would shock no one for Mike McCarthy to not be asked back for the future. It is important to note that while this feels obvious based on everything, there have been no media reports on the matter as this being the case. Until now. Mike McCarthy’s future with the Dallas Cowboys after this season is (obviously) in doubt Five years ago the Cowboys were similarly lifeless across the important parts of their season. Jason Garrett’s hallmark as the team’s head coach was that the team “never quit on him” which finally began to become the case as the wheels truly fell off. You will recall that Garrett was never fired by the Cowboys. The team’s stance was that they were not renewing his contract, and what’s more is that they literally interviewed candidates while he was still technically holding the post after the 2019 season ended. Could we be in store for something similar with Mike McCarthy? That specific detail remains unclear. People like ESPN are reporting that it would “surprise” a lot of people to see McCarthy back. Again, not shocking at all, but that it has reached this level of discussion is the next part of the process. Graziano: The Cowboys are coming to grips with the fact that their 2024 roster wasn’t what they thought it was, and quarterback Dak Prescott being out for the rest of the season because of a hamstring injury brings home the fact they aren’t likely going to the playoffs. So they’re already talking about what to do to fix things. I was in Dallas over the weekend, and there’s a great deal of chatter about who might be coaching the team next year, as Mike McCarthy is not signed for 2025. It would surprise a lot of people to see him back. Jerry Jones has made it clear he won’t change coaches during the season, so McCarthy will at least get to coach out the season. Back in January, when Jerry Jones first announced that McCarthy would return, we noted that Jones has not fired a head coach at the conclusion of a season since he fired Dave Campo after the 2002 campaign. Does this mean anything specific? Obviously not. But it does somewhat speak to the idea that the Cowboys do not want to rock the boat as their head coaches in that time have (in order) retired from coaching (Bill Parcells), been fired midseason (Wade Phillips), not had their contract renewed (Jason Garrett) and will likely not have their contract renewed (Mike McCarthy). Some would say that this behavior represents a patient franchise and that such a disposition is good for a club. That may be fair on some level. But others would offer that this speaks of indifference and an unwillingness to do anything beyond the bare minimum. It is hard to argue against that overall idea with this team right now. Whatever the case. the writing is now firmly starting to appear on the wall for Mike McCarthy.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images As of this moment, Mike McCarthy is still gainfully employed as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. That said, the odds are rapidly increasing that the coach’s contract will be allowed to expire at the conclusion of the season, as the Cowboys are in the midst of a four-game losing streak and facing the reality that Dak Prescott will miss the rest of the year. This begs the question of who might replace McCarthy when, not if, the job becomes available. Looking around the league, there are quite a few hot names in the coaching world that could be contenders in Dallas. While there will surely be some interest among fans in plucking a coach from the college ranks (Deion Sanders, anyone?), Jerry Jones has been pretty adamant that such a move can’t work in the modern NFL. Without further ado, and as the regular season keeps on rolling, here are 10 names to watch as potential candidates for the top job with America’s Team. Ben Johnson Current role: Lions offensive coordinator The skinny: Ben Johnson has been the hottest head coaching candidate for a while now. He’s built one of the most explosive offenses in the league over the last three years, turned Jared Goff’s career around, and frequently makes opposing defenses’ heads spin with his game plans. Why it’ll happen: Johnson’s name will be at the top of every hiring team’s list. Jerry Jones believes the Cowboys deserve the very best – it’s why he swooped Mike McCarthy out from the Panthers last time around – and he may throw everything he has at landing the biggest name Why it won’t: Johnson has been picky in previous hiring cycles. He was reportedly the frontrunner for the Commanders job last year, but took himself out of consideration over concerns with the new ownership group not being committed enough to football. The Cowboys’ own fans don’t believe Jerry Jones is committed enough; will Johnson? Bill Belichick Current role: TV analyst The skinny: Everyone knows who Bill Belichick is. Arguably the greatest head coach of all time and winner of six Super Bowls, Belichick parted ways with the Patriots after going 29-38 following Tom Brady’s departure. He’s done several football media gigs this past year, reminding everyone of his incredibly deep knowledge of the game. Why it’ll happen: This seems like a no-brainer for Jerry Jones. Both he and Belichick have talked in the past about nearly working together at various points, and Belichick reportedly has built a good relationship with Stephen Jones from their time together on the NFL Competition Committee. Why it won’t: For starters, he’ll be 73 years old when the new season kicks off. How much longevity does Belichick have? Also, Belichick had total control of the roster in New England, and he wouldn’t have that in Dallas no matter what promises Jones makes to him. Bobby Slowik Current role: Texans offensive coordinator The skinny: The son of longtime NFL defensive coach Bob Slowik, Bobby Slowik started out as a defensive assistant in Washington on a staff that included Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, and Mike McDaniel. Later, Slowik joined Shanahan’s 49ers on defense before switching over to offense. After rising through the ranks, he followed DeMeco Ryans to Houston last year to run the offense and immediately saw success with rookie C.J. Stroud. Why it’ll happen: The Shanahan coaching tree is hot right now, and Slowik hails from it. His quick success with the Texans has made him a hot commodity, and his football bloodline helps. Plus, he could modernize the Cowboys offense, something it seriously needs right now. Why it won’t: Slowik is just 37 years old and his second season running the offense hasn’t been as great as last year. There’s a feeling that Slowik still needs to marinate as a coordinator before making the jump. And the Cowboys are not a team that can wait for a head coach to learn on the job. Aaron Glenn Current role: Lions defensive coordinator The skinny: A former star defensive back, Aaron Glenn has enjoyed similar success as a coach. He oversaw the development of several star defensive backs in New Orleans before becoming a key figure in the Lions rebuild under Dan Campbell. He’s had multiple head coaching interviews in the last two cycles and it seems to be a question of when, not if. Why it’ll happen: Glenn is a Texas native that played for the Aggies. He also played for the Cowboys in the Parcells era. He even has front office experience, having been the GM of a startup league team based in Houston before two years as a scout for the Jets. Why it won’t: Glenn hasn’t been as picky as his fellow coordinator, Ben Johnson, but he also isn’t in a rush to leave Detroit. He’s also very close with Parcells, as is Dan Campbell, and that could color his perception of what it’s like to be Jerry Jones’ head coach. Brian Flores Current role: Vikings defensive coordinator The skinny: Brian Flores grew into a coaching star under Belichick, holding a variety of front office and coaching positions with the Patriots. He turned it into the Dolphins head coaching gig, where he became the first coach in nearly two decades to post consecutive winning seasons for the Dolphins. Despite that, Miami fired him, and the reasons why are a point of contention. Since then, Flores had a one-year stint with the Steelers before going to Minnesota, where he’s turned the Vikings from one of the league’s worst defenses to one of the very best. Why it’ll happen: Flores offers much of the same appeal of Belichick – grit, accountability, experience – but at nearly half his age. His Dolphins tenure will prompt plenty of questions, mostly around the offense, but Flores’ last two years working under Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has granted him access to the Shanahan/McVay directory of offensive coordinator candidates.