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The Dallas Cowboys and head coach Mike McCarthy officially agreed to mutually part ways on Monday, with McCarthy’s contract set to expire and the two sides unable to come to agreement. That leaves the door open for Dallas to explore a coaching market that some consider one of the strongest in recent seasons.
The Cowboys are expected to conduct an “extensive” search for a new head coach according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, which was not the case in 2020 when they hired McCarthy. Although former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and ex-Cowboys star Jason Witten sit toward the top of the betting odds.
One problem facing Dallas when it comes to undergoing an exhaustive search is timing. The Cowboys could well have let McCarthy go well before Monday. He began his fifth season in charge with a 3-7 record and had already shown an inability to go toe-to-toe with the league’s top teams. Instead, owner Jerry Jones opted to let it ride, and now the organization will be severely limited as to who it can interview in the coming weeks.
Because the #Cowboys waited a week to move on from Mike McCarthy, Jerry Jones also missed the window to request interviews with candidates on a bye, like #Lions OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn. If Dallas wants to talk to them, they’ll now have to wait until Detroit’s season… https://t.co/KOYarwyPpc pic.twitter.com/Fmpv9jyRyb
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) January 13, 2025
Jerry Jones Tied The Dallas Cowboys Hands When It Comes To Head Coaching Search
Detroit Lions coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn are among the league’s hottest commodities. As are names such as Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Buffalo Bills OC Joe Brady. However, now that those teams have begun their respective playoff runs, Dallas must now wait until they’re eliminated before speaking with those coaches.
Meanwhile, Johnson and Glenn have both already interviewed with multiple teams who spoke with them during Detroit’s bye week. Similarly, legendary head coach Bill Belichick was reportedly interested in the position but was unaware that could come open before taking head coaching job at the University of North Carolina.
Ironically, McCarthy celebrated that move by stating that Belichick now couldn’t take his job. In a sense, it appears that he was right.