FRISCO, Texas — Asked if he has made a decision on Mike McCarthy’s future as Dallas Cowboys head coach, owner and general manager Jerry Jones deferred while speaking to 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Friday.
“I’m not going to get into any conversations that I’ve had with anybody relative to anything to do with the staff,” Jones said. “I understand the interest in it, but there’s nothing compelling me. I’ve got everyone under contract that I want to have under contract. And so that’s where we are.”
On Wednesday, McCarthy said he had “very positive” conversations with Jones and is going through the evaluation process after the team’s disappointing wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones, when asked Monday if McCarthy would return for a third season, said “absolutely,” and “very confident.”
Jerry Jones’ displeasure with how the season ended, however, came through during Friday’s interview.
“If I thought changing out men at any level that would improve us, I’d change it out,” Jones said.
He added: “I’m very, very frustrated and upset. You can call it COVID, you can call it anything, but we have used up some very talented players over the last few years.”
McCarthy on Wednesday said penalties are the biggest issue that the Cowboys have to clear up. The team led the NFL in penalties in the regular season and were flagged 14 times for 89 yards against San Francisco.
“Now let me be real clear, one of the pet peeves I have is that I don’t like this, ‘Well, we’ve got to work on this in the offseason. We’ve got to work on this.’ I don’t go for that,” Jones said Friday without specifying McCarthy’s evaluation of the team’s penalty problem. “… I want those things recognized and addressed after we play Tampa after the first game or after we play the sixth game. I don’t want to wait until we’re sitting here with no season left to address these things we’re doing or not doing.
“So all of that is in the mix here and a part of what I do. … The ultimate decision on these coaches and anywhere around here is one that I have to make, so the guy that you’re the toughest on should be the one in the mirror. He’s the one that has the ultimate responsibility and consequently I get to operate at that guy’s timeline.”
Coordinators Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore have had interviews with multiple teams regarding head coaching vacancies this week.
“The team and their functions got us in a position healthy, in a position to win a Super Bowl. And, so, I’m very guarded about throwing all of that down the drain because we didn’t win one of the steps in the playoffs getting to the Super Bowl,” Jones said when asked about the coordinators’ performances during the regular season. “So, to answer your question, I take into consideration a lot about how well we did this year in the regular season and what it meant and what the record meant. So, I will. And, so, yes, I thought we did a really, a really good job of getting to the playoffs.
“Still, I can’t over what we did in the playoffs.”