Mike McCarthy will be returning to the Cowboys next season, according to at least one prominent front office voice in Dallas.
In the midst of a disappointing season, some questions had already started to swirl about the potential future of McCarthy and his staff. However, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones settled some of those rumors on Monday -- at least for the head coach.
“There will be absolutely no change with Coach McCarthy,” Jones said during his weekly appearance with 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM].
“I am surprised that someone would question Mike, this unprecedented situation that everybody’s been in. And on top of that, no one’s making excuses, but we have had some real challenges in the injury category.”
McCarthy took over in the offseason after the Cowboys parted ways with longtime coach Jason Garrett following another 8-8 season that ended with Dallas missing the postseason for the third time in five years.
While the Cowboys aren’t likely to find their way back to the playoffs this year -- Dallas needs to string together a few more wins, plus get some extra help from around the league -- Jones is confident that McCarthy is the man who can get them there in the future.
“If you look at his track record and his pedigree, he’s consistently won, year in and year out,” Jones said.
“We have the utmost confidence that this ship is going to be righted quickly, and Mike is going to be the leader of this group. He’s certainly a great head coach, and I think we’re going to see that going forward. He’s a great head coach in this league, he’s accomplished a lot, and he’s going to accomplish a lot more before it’s all said and done.”
After a win over the Bengals on Sunday, the Cowboys improved their record to 4-9 in McCarthy’s first season in charge. Dallas currently sits in last place in the lumbering NFC East, but has not been mathematically eliminated from the postseason.
Dallas’ next game comes on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers at AT&T Stadium.
