Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images Enjoy some college football playoffs The College Football Playoffs continue with a semifinal game between Notre Dame and Penn State This is an open thread for game chat.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Do you believe the Cowboys are handling the Mike McCarthy situation in a fair manner? Much has been made on sports talk shows and among other NFL pundits about the supposed ‘mess’ that is the Dallas Cowboys handling of the Mike McCarthy head coach question. There is plenty of talk about Dallas mistreating Mike McCarthy by not making a decision, denying permission for the Chicago Bears to speak to him, and any other thing you can think of. The only problem with all that is it doesn’t seem that Mike McCarthy feels that way. McCarthy is a longtime veteran coach with skins on the wall, and has options among other teams. If he felt that Jerry Jones and the Cowboys were mistreating him or making a mess of the situation, he has every opportunity to speak about it, or to change the narrative himself. But he hasn’t. That’s because the most logical scenario here is that he wants to coach the Cowboys, Jerry Jones wants him to coach the Cowboys, and they are just negotiating what that looks like. Things like the length of the contract, the salary, how much power and influence McCarthy has over certain football areas, all of that needs to be worked out because in essence this is the Cowboys hiring a ‘new’ coach. Sure, they know McCarthy and McCarthy knows them, but he may be asking for more influence here and there, or it might be about the length of the contract, or any number of things we are not privy to on the outside. It appears that all of this is happening over the last few days per a report from Jeremy Fowler at ESPN. Cowboys coach McCarthy and owner Jerry Jones spent significant time Tuesday and Wednesday discussing the future — whether it’s a new contract in Dallas or McCarthy potentially coaching elsewhere in 2025. People I’ve talked to in Dallas believe McCarthy is more likely to stay in Dallas than leave, but both sides need to be sure, and they have less than a week to figure it out. McCarthy has leverage and options. And as several coaches have told me this week, why wouldn’t teams want to speak to a Super Bowl winner in what’s considered a weaker candidate pool? The problem with the whole ‘Jerry is making a mess of it’ scenario is that it assumes McCarthy has no leverage and is just a puppet in all of this. It is more likely that McCarthy is asserting his interest in what he wants as the coach going forward, and Jerry is negotiating that with him. It is also unfair to suggest that the Cowboys could have done this at any point during the season. That’s just not generally how it works. During the season coaches are focused on one thing, winning football games. Ownership might not even make up its mind until near the end of the season if there is even a chance that the coach comes back. Plus, McCarthy can now see that he has interest from other teams and can now use that as leverage in negotiating a new deal. Suggesting that all of this is in Jerry Jones’ hands and that he is making a mockery of this severely underestimates McCarthy’s role in all of this. The most likely scenario that is happening is that McCarthy wants to come back, Jerry Jones wants him to came back, they are just haggling over the terms of what that looks like. Obviously it could all fall apart and animosity could break out among the two, so the end result could end up being messy. But if they can find their middle ground, they will have this all sewn up by early next week. It’s just business.

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images Several players from the CFP semifinals could be in play for the Cowboys in the 2025 NFL Draft. Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame, and Penn State all have their sights set on the national championship game, but first they have to make it through the semifinals before they can reach their ultimate goal. That, of course, will be easier said than done. There is a lot of NFL talent who will be in these next two games of the College Football Playoffs, and every one of them will be doing their best to stand out knowing NFL eyes will be on them. Some of those NFL eyes will be from the Dallas Cowboys organization. Barring a trade, the Cowboys currently hold the 12th overall pick in the first-round of the 2025 NFL Draft. There are several players who will be suiting up in the CFP semifinals they could target with that selection and even more who they’ll be keeping their eye on in the following rounds. Today we are going to share a few of those top prospects to keep a close watchful eye on. Orange Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Penn State Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images Notre Dame’s best offensive prospect – QB Riley Leonard If the Cowboys are looking for a QB to groom behind Dak Prescott, they could be keeping an eye on Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard. At 6’3″, 225-pounds, he has the prototypical size of a QB1 and the physical talent to develop into a future starter at the next level. Despite him being an explosive athlete, there are still questions about whether or not he can make all of the NFL throws. Because of that, he’s probably a mid-round prospect. Runner-up: TE Mitchell Evans Notre Dame’s best defensive prospect – S Xavier Watts Both Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker could potentially be salary-cap casualties, making Xavier Watts a safety prospect to keep an eye on for the Cowboys. He’s ranked as a Top 5 prospect at his position this year. He has only average size (6’0″, 203) and speed by NFL standards, but his read-react awareness and ball skills always seems to have a him in position to make plays. He should hear his name called at some point in the Top 50. Runner-up: LB Jack Kiser Penn State’s best offensive prospect – TE Tyler Warren With Jake Ferguson coming off a down season and entering the final year of his rookie contract, and with Luke Schoonmaker’s injury history always a concern, Tyler Warren could be someone to keep an eye on the Cowboys in the CFP semifinals. He’s the top-ranked TE in the 2025 draft class and at 6’6″, 261-pounds he’s a fluid athlete for his size who is exceptional at the catch point. He’s projected to be a mid to late first-round pick. Runner-up: RB Nicholas Singleton Penn State’s best defensive prospect – EDGE Abdul Carter Abdul Carter is the top-ranked EDGE player in the 2025 draft class and is expected to be a potential Top 5 selection in April. After making the move from linebacker to defensive end the 6’3″, 252-pound pass rusher almost immediately became a nightmare for opposing tackles. He’s shown vast improvements since making the positions switch, and if he still on the board for the Cowboys, it would give them another pass rusher similar to Micah Parsons. Runner-up: S Kevin Winston Jr. Cotton Bowl: Texas vs. Ohio State Photo by Caten Hyde/The University of Texas Athletics/University Images via Getty Images Texas’ best offensive prospect – OL Kelvin Banks Jr. Kelvin Banks Jr. is one of the top offensive line prospects in the 2025 draft class. He is expected to be a Top 10 selection, but could potentially still be on the board for the Cowboys in the first-round. Opinions are split if his best position at the next level is at guard or tackle, but at 6’4″, 320-pounds that position flex could be invaluable for Dallas’ OL rebuild. He would give them multiple options how to deploy their best five starters. Runner-up: WR Isaiah Bond Texas’ best defensive prospect – DT Alfred Collins It’s no secret the Cowboys need to upgrade the interior of their defensive line and Alfred Collins could be someone who catches their attention. At 6’5″, 319-pounds he has an impressive 84 3/4″ wingspan and 34 3/4″ arm length. He’s a load to handle at the point of attack and has surprising agility for a player his size. He is expected to be a Top 50 selection and would be a plug-and-play starter if drafted by the Cowboys. Runner-up: CB Jahdae Barron Ohio State’s best offensive prospect – WR Emeka Egbuka If the Cowboys are looking for a QB friendly wide receiver who can also help take the pressure off of CeeDee Lamb, Emeka Egbuka is someone they could target early in the 2025 NFL Draft. He is expected to be a mid to late first-round selection and would immediately upgrade the WR position behind No. 88 in Dallas. He’s at his best working the short to intermediate areas of the field, but can challenge defenses deep as well. Runner-up: RB TreVeyon Henderson Ohio State’s best defensive prospect – DT Tyelik Williams Tyelik Williams was one of the best run defenders in the nation in 2024 and that just happens to be one of the Cowboys problem areas defensively over the past few years. At 6’3″, 327-pounds, Williams is considered to be a Top 5 defensive tackle prospect in the 2025 draft class and is projected to be a mid to late first-round selection. His gap integrity, shed ability, and play recognition to sniff out plays would immediately upgrade Dallas’ DL. Runner-up: EDGE JT Tuimoloau

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images The defensive tackle is set to hit free agency coming off a career year. The Dallas Cowboys have a long list of free agents who will officially hit the open market in a little over two months. Of the sixteen, many were significant contributors in 2024, meaning the Cowboys have some difficult decisions ahead of them in the next two months. Today, in our free agent profile series, we take a look at an impending free agent. It’s a player who was one of the Cowboys’ best performers this season, defensive tackle, Osa Odighizuwa. Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images 2024 Regular Season Stats: 17G, 60 total pressures, 39 QB Hurries, 14 QB Hits, 7.0 Sacks, 30 Stops, 78.5 Pass-Rush Grade, 1 Forced Fumble Year Review: Osa Odighizuwa put together the most complete season of his career this year, sustaining consistently solid play throughout the entirety of the 17-game regular season. The former third-rounder picked the perfect time for a career year, recording career-highs in total pressures, quarterback hurries/hits, and sacks. Odighizuwa ended up finishing in the top five among all defensive tackles in those three categories, including being third in the league with his 60 total pressures. The 26-year-old had at least four pressures in nine games, and finished the season playing his best ball of the year, recording 32 total pressures over Dallas’ last seven regular season games. Odighizuwa fully displayed how disruptive he can be, proving to be one of the best pass-rushing defensive tackles in all of football. This season could not have come at a better time for the 26-year-old as he’s set to hit free agency this March and will be one of the hottest commodities on the open market. Free Agency Outlook: After the year he had, Odighizuwa has a lot of things going for him One of the most impactful may be the lack of difference-makers at defensive tackle in this year’s free agency class. You could make a solid argument that Odighizuwa is the most productive player at the position set to hit free agency this March. Last offseason, Christian Wilkins signed the largest deal for a defensive tackle in free agency, agreeing to a four-year, $110M contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. Odighizuwa’s contract-year performance is comparable to what Wilkins did before entering free agency after the 2023 season, but it’s hard to see a team offering him a contract worth over $27M a year annually. The next two biggest deals signed by defensive tackles last offseason were Grover Stewart returning to the Colts on a three-year, $39M deal and Justin Jones going to Arizona for three years, $31M. Stewart is primarily a run-stopping defensive tackle, but Jones is a very comparable player to Odighizuwa. Jones was 27 when he signed his free-agent deal, meaning Odighizuwa will be almost a full year younger with even better contract year statistics. It’s safe to assume Odighizuwa will want to surpass the deals both Jones and Stewart signed, and with the lack of talent at the position group in free agency he should be a lock to do so. If a team really needs a defensive tackle, they may be willing to offer Odighizuwa a three or four-year deal worth anywhere from $13-16M annually. Cowboys Verdict: You could make a very solid argument that retaining Osa Odighizuwa should be Dallas’ number one priority this offseason. If the Cowboys were to let the 26-year-old walk, their defensive tackle group would be by far the worst in the NFL. With all the needs elsewhere on the roster, Dallas cannot afford to once again completely overhaul the defensive tackle position. If they were to bring Odighizuwa back, the Cowboys could focus on pairing him with a cheaper, run-stopping defensive tackle in free agency instead of being forced to spend a premium draft pick on the position. Dallas has the cap space, so no matter the cost they should focus on locking Odighizuwa up before he’s able to hit free agency and potentially get an offer the Cowboys could not match. Prediction: Osa Odighizuwa signs a four-year, $56M contract with the Dallas Cowboys

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images Micah Parsons feels like 2025 is the year for Dallas. The Dallas Cowboys won’t be participating in the postseason for the first time since 2020. However, per usual, it doesn’t stop people from talking about the organization, and All-Pro Micah Parsons has made headlines this week. First, he made a pitch to Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill to join the Cowboys next season. Speaking of the 2025 campaign, Parsons made an extremely bold prediction for what next year will look like for Dallas. He stated that the Cowboys would win the Super Bowl. Powerful: Micah Parsons says that the Cowboys will win the Super Bowl next season: “It’s gonna be an amazing, amazing, amazing thing to see next year when we are holding the trophy… we’re gonna be holding a trophy up next year, point blank, period.” pic.twitter.com/fKHH4CTNKJ — Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 8, 2025 Now, that’s certainly a statement to make. The Cowboys have five Super Bowl titles, which are tied with the San Francisco 49ers for the second-most all-time. They haven’t won a championship since the 1995 season, though. In fact, the NFC Championship Game has avoided them ever since their last title as well, with the second round being their maximum destination. As things stand, Dallas has a lot to figure out before next season. As usual, they won’t be big players in free agency. So, that means that in-house free agents like cornerback Jourdan Lewis and defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa will be of the utmost importance. There’s also the future of head coach Mike McCarthy since his deal is up. Then, there’s the NFL draft, which is the most important aspect of what the Cowboys do in terms of team building. They’ll have to hit on most of those picks because they’ll be required to contribute early with Dallas not adding much to the roster in any other avenue. All of this makes what Parsons said seem extremely farfetched. Whatever the outcome is for next season, it’ll be entertaining when it comes to the Cowboys.

Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images 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

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images How do you think the Dallas Cowboys rookie class fared this season? The Dallas Cowboys season is officially over and now it’s time to get to work on the 2025 season. From coaches to veterans, and even the rookies, are all about to get deeply examined as the team prepares for a huge overhaul this offseason. Here on Blogging The Boys we analyzed the rookies after each game and previewed the class before each upcoming contest. Here’s a review of each rookie from the full season. OT Tyler Guyton It was a tough start for the man-mountain out of Oklahoma, which ended poorly, allowing a sack and getting two penalties in the final game against Washington. That performance led to him getting pulled from the game. Rookie offensive linemen do take time to develop and throughout the year there were glimmers of hope from Guyton, who looked to be taking steps forward to getting better, only to fall apart the next week. From this year’s offensive tackle class, Guyton finished seventh in total pressures and third in total sacks allowed, so it’s not a complete mess. What he did lead in, however, was penalties where he nearly doubled the amount of the second place rookie tackle. We wrote during the offseason that Guyton came with question marks in a “Buyers Beware” article. The reason for the questions was simple, snap count and playing right tackle. Perhaps the Cowboys draft a new left tackle and move Guyton to the right side. Or they allow him to play through his growing pains at left tackle. DE Marshawn Kneeland Kneeland came in with a lot excitement and expectation. Some likened the Western Michigan pass rusher to DeMarcus Lawrence and as things kicked off he did have flashes similar to that of the Cowboys veteran. What we ended up with was a season performance that was inconsistent and disjointed because of injury. He missed a good portion of the middle of the season. He finished the year registering zero sacks, only two tackles for loss and 11 total tackles. The highlight of the year for Kneeland was a fumble recovery he made against Carolina. C Cooper Beebe During a season riddled with injuries, Cooper Beebe was one constant that remained on offense and started in all 17 games. On 692 passing sets, Beebe allowed only three sacks and 18 pressures, both of which was less than Zack Martin. We did see a couple of moments where Beebe had an errant snap from shotgun, but generally he was solid. The majority of his work this offseason he needs to concentrate on run blocking. He was inconsistent throughout the year in this department, but he has become a solid starter on the line. LB Marist Liufau Marist Liufau has been of the most entertaining watches this year. He was quietly working and stayed prepared, then once DeMarvion Overshown went out for the year, Liufau was thrust into a more prominent role. What we saw was a defensive playmaker who attacked the ball with lethal execution. Was it all perfect and polished? Definitely not, but the foundation he’s set for next year should give Cowboys fans a lot to be enthusiastic about. CB Caelen Carson DaRon Bland started the season injured which meant the rookie cornerback had to step up to the plate. It was a tall order to begin with but clearly the pressure and talent level had reached it limit for the young cornerback. Each week the opposing quarterback came in with the same game plan as the previous, target whoever Carson was covering. Carson ended the year with the second-lowest defensive grade on the team (Andrew Booth being the worst), and allowed the second-highest passer rating among Cowboys cornerbacks. WR Ryan Flournoy Ryan Flournoy gave fans some excitement with his speed and burst. The start of the year was fairly quiet for the wide receiver but as the season drew on we saw Flournoy begin to make plays. Against Tampa Bay in a thrilling victory, Flournoy made three good catches for 41 yards and was beginning to show some chemistry with Copper Rush. Against Washington in the final week where C.J. Goodwin recovered the fumbled punt, it was Flournoy that made the smart play of running the Commanders player into Jamison Crowder to force the muffed catch. The hope is Flournoy can develop this offseason to become something more than just a special teams player. TE Brevyn Spann-Ford Ford had moments this year when Jake Ferguson was out with injury. His best game came against Houston where he caught four passes for 42 yards. But the majority of his work on offense was used as an extra blocker. It should be of no surprise that when Jake Ferguson came back and Ford was used mostly as a run blocker we saw Rico Dowdle suddenly become a viable running back. This isn’t to say Ford was the reason for Dowdle’s success, but he certainly helped.