Mike McCarthy will get another chance to end nearly three decades without a deep playoff run for the Dallas Cowboys, a decision that ended three days of intense speculation about the coach's future.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Wednesday night that McCarthy will return for a fifth season after a stunning 48-32 loss to Green Bay.
The Cowboys were the first No. 2 seed to lose to the last team to enter since the 14-team format was adopted in 2020. Dallas has cruised to the NFC East title in the final two weeks and has a chance to host at least two teams. Playoffs.
Instead, McCarthy's team is the first team not to reach the conference title game after three straight 12-win seasons.
“There is great benefit to the team continuing to progress under Mike as our head coach,” Jones said in a statement that included several references to the disappointment of losing in the playoffs. “Mike has the highest regular season winning percentage of any head coach in Cowboys history, and, in partnership with him, we will dedicate ourselves to translating that into achieving our postseason goals.”
McCarthy was hired to advance Dallas past the divisional round for the first time since the 1995 season, the last of the franchise's five Super Bowl titles.
The 60-year-old coach won the Super Bowl with Green Bay 13 years ago and has reached the NFC Championship three other times in more than 12 seasons leading the Packers.
McCarthy was fired midway through Green Bay's second straight losing season in 2018. He was out of football in 2019 before Jones hired him. He is 167-102-2 overall and 42-25 with Dallas.
McCarthy has one year remaining on his contract. Jones' statement did not refer to an extension.
Quarterback Dak Prescott, who also has one year left on his four-year, $160 million contract, played poorly in the first half as Dallas fell behind 27-0. The top five defensive unit never slowed down the Packers in quarterback Jordan Love's first playoff game.
Dallas allowed the most points in franchise postseason history while falling to 1-3 in the playoffs under McCarthy. Prescott is 2-5 in the playoffs.
“We will begin the review and decision-making process regarding everything that impacts our team and roster,” Jones said. “While we will not address specific players, extensions or free agents at this stage, it is worthy of our review and deep consideration, and we will get it.”
Two of the Cowboys' three playoff losses under McCarthy were home openers, as Dallas had won 16 straight regular-season games before losing to Green Bay.
Both times, Dallas was the only team to lose at home on the weekend. San Francisco won at AT&T Stadium to end the Cowboys' 2021 season.
One factor working in McCarthy's favor is that he just finished his first season as the play-caller for Prescott, who led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes and completed a career-best 69.5% of his passes.
Jones spoke highly of his coach and quarterback during the season, and he may want to see how the new dynamic of that relationship can grow.
“Our loss on Sunday is shared by everyone here, not just Coach McCarthy. Our players. Our coaches. Our front office. Myself,” Jones said. “The lens we use to view and evaluate Coach McCarthy is a holistic lens. While we are all disappointed with Sunday's result and our playoff record, I support him 100% as our head coach and our ability to achieve our goals.
The Cowboys could lose defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to the head coaching job. The former Atlanta coach was in charge of Dallas' defense for three seasons, but the performance against the Packers was perhaps the unit's worst since Quinn took over.
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