The Mike McCarthy era is over in Dallas.
McCarthy will not return as the Cowboys head coach for the 2025 season as the two sides could not come to terms on an agreement on the length of a new contract, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported on Monday.
McCarthy, whose contract is set to expire on Tuesday, will now look for a new team after five seasons and three playoff appearances with Dallas. McCarthy’s five-year tenure with the Cowboys ends with a 49-35 regular-season record and a 1-3 playoff ledger.
The news comes after Dallas owner Jerry Jones suggested midway through an injury-riddled 2024 season that he’d consider extending McCarthy’s contract. Jones continued to champion McCarthy amid a stretch in which the Cowboys won four of five games late in the season.
Dallas would go on to finish 7-10 in a season that began with high expectations. Jones continued to be effusive with his praise of McCarthy when the season ended, telling reporters on Jan. 5 that “Mike’s one of the best coaches that I think there is.”
Star quarterback Dak Prescott also championed the veteran coach, affirming his belief in McCarthy and going as far as saying in early December that he deserves “another contract.”
But following a losing season impacted by Prescott missing nine games, the two sides are moving on as the McCarthy era in Dallas ends similarly to how it began.
McCarthy’s first year at the helm was marred by a traumatic Prescott leg injury suffered in Week 5 of the 2020 season, leading to a 6-10 record with Andy Dalton primarily under center. However, it didn’t take long for McCarthy’s vision to become actualized with Prescott fully healthy.
Beginning in 2021, McCarthy led the Cowboys to the first of three consecutive 12-5 seasons, winning two NFC East titles in the process and lifting Dallas into perennial Super Bowl contention.
The Cowboys were an offensive juggernaut from 2021-23, boasting top-five finishes in total yards and scoring during that span. Prescott flourished, producing a 96-34 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a 101.6 passer rating over the course of those three seasons. CeeDee Lamb also emerged as one of the NFL’s best wideouts along the way, producing the best receiving season in franchise history with 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 14 totals TDs in 2023.
McCarthy’s success in the regular season couldn’t be matched in the playoffs, however, and that might be the underlining factor of his tenure ending.
The 2021 campaign ended with an ugly loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card Round, in which Dallas produced just 17 points at home after leading the NFL in total offense and scoring that season.
McCarthy led the Cowboys to postseason success in 2022, bringing the franchise its first road playoff victory in over 30 years and ending Tom Brady’s career with a dominant 31-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But Dallas couldn’t get past its longtime NFC rival once again, falling to the Niners, 19-12, and extending the franchise’s disheartening streak to seven straight defeats in the Divisional Round.
The Cowboys then faced McCarthy’s old team in the 2023 playoffs, but the vengeful storyline of that wild-card matchup with the Green Bay Packers ended in embarrassment. At AT&T Stadium, Dallas saw a 27-0 deficit before halftime and crawled toward a painstaking finish, losing in a 48-32 blowout and bringing forth looming questions of McCarthy’s job security.
Dallas decided to run it back with McCarthy in 2024, but the injury bug reared its head, and the Cowboys lost Prescott after Week 9 due to a hamstring injury that required season-ending surgery. While McCarthy managed to keep the team afloat with Cooper Rush under center, the Cowboys’ rough start to the season (even with Prescott healthy) ultimately kept them out of serious playoff contention.
The Cowboys’ head coaching vacancy will likely be a highly sought-after role in 2025, just like it was when McCarthy was hired in 2020. Although there will be decisions to make on an expensive roster this offseason — most notably the impending contract extension of star pass rusher Micah Parsons — Dallas has some essential pieces needed to compete in place with Prescott and Lamb.
McCarthy is expected to have options during the 2025 hiring cycle. The Bears requested to interview him last week, however, Dallas declined the request as it fell during the team’s exclusive negotiating window. The Saints are also expected to have interest, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday.
Time will tell if Chicago, New Orleans or another team with an opening will interview the Super Bowl-winning HC.
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