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Mike McCarthy is staying put in Arlington after all. On Wednesday, the Dallas Cowboys announced that they were retaining their coach, ending speculation about his future.
America's Team were coming off their first and only home loss of the 2023-24 season - a 48-32 Wild Card drubbing by the Green Bay Packers - who became the first victorious seventh seed in NFL history.
Subsequently, owner/general manager Jerry Jones issued a statement explaining the decision to keep faith with the coach:
“I believe this team is very close and capable of achieving our ultimate goals, and the best step forward for us will be with Mike McCarthy as our head coach. There is great benefit to continuing the team’s progress under Mike’s leadership."
However, he also promised a comprehensive reevaluation of McCarthy's staff and roster:
"While we’re not going to address specific players and extensions or free agents at this point, it deserves our deepest review and consideration, and it will get it.”
The full statement can be seen below:
Sports Illustrated writer dissects how Mike McCarthy avoided dismissal from Cowboys
The decision to continue the Mike McCarthy era has been met with shock and disdain by anguished Cowboys fans, who have been clamoring for change as their Super Bowl drought approaches 30 seasons.
One of them is Sports Illustrated writer Mike Fisher. Writing for Cowboys Country, an SI subsite, he theorized that the former Packers coach had used specific words during what had been called a "job interview" to convince the ownership to keep him:
"What did McCarthy do or say in that meeting to avoid getting fired? The words you will hear first? 'Continuity' and 'stability.'"
At the same time, that left him wondering about the notions that went unaddressed after their historic loss on Sunday:
"But was the '50-0 thing'' ignored? Did McCarthy demonstrate that his 'body of work' is more important than 'one bad day'? Or did Jones quiz the coach on the fact that it's actually been 'three bad days' in the last three postseasons?"
Either way, McCarthy faces a litany of players entering free agency, like running backs Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle, offensive linemen Tyler Biadasz and Tyron Smith, and cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and Jourdan Lewis.
