Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Cowboys' plan for Mike McCarthy's future revealed

By Eric Smithling | Last updated 1/20/24

Mike McCarthy has one more year to prove himself in Dallas.

After owner Jerry Jones stunned the football world by announcing he was retaining McCarthy following the Cowboys' shocking 48-32 Super Wild Card Weekend loss to the Packers, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Saturday that the beleaguered head coach won't receive an extension before the 2024 season.

Mike McCarthy is not expected to receive any sort of extension from the Dallas Cowboys and will coach the 2024 season on an expiring contract, per sources.https://t.co/ZuMnR1vPVh
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 20, 2024

That makes next season make-or-break for McCarthy. It might not be Super Bowl-or-bust, but he likely won't survive another one-and-done in January.

According to Schefter, "Jones believes that a person in the last year of a contract is challenged in a different way, and it often can bring out the best in people."

McCarthy's status as a lame-duck coach in 2024 means the Cowboys' head-coaching job will be one of the dominant storylines of the season.
While he's established a level of consistency in Dallas unseen since the franchise's run of three Super Bowls in four years during the 1990s, McCarthy has had the same issues as every coach since Barry Switzer in being unable to get the Cowboys past the divisional round of the playoffs.

Since 2021, only the Chiefs have had more regular-season wins than the Cowboys. But with their loss last weekend, they became the first franchise in NFL history to have three consecutive 12-win seasons without a Super Bowl appearance.

As much as he's won during the regular season in Dallas, McCarthy's 1-3 postseason record is a black-eye. Unless that turns around next year, he's on borrowed time.

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