Boston: For football fans who were hoping to see Bill Belichick on the Dallas sideline next season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones delivered some unfavorable news.
Jones declared on Wednesday that, despite yet another dismal postseason loss, head coach Mike McCarthy will not be sacked.
The football world was aflutter with rumors that McCarthy would be fired and replaced by Belichick after Dallas’ wildcard playoff loss to Green Bay.
Rather, McCarthy will have another opportunity to bring the Cowboys’ nearly three-decade postseason drought to an end. This decision put an end to three days of feverish conjecture over the coach’s future.
McCarthy will return for a fifth season, according to Jones, following the shocking 48-32 loss to Green Bay.
The Cowboys were the first No. 2 seed to lose to the last team to get in since the 14-team format was adopted in 2020. Dallas surged to the NFC East title in the final two weeks and had a chance to host at least two playoff games.
Instead, McCarthy’s team is the first not to reach a conference title game after three consecutive 12-win playoff seasons.
“There is great benefit to continuing the team’s progress under Mike’s leadership as our head coach,” Jones said in a statement with several references to the disappointment of the playoff loss. “Mike has the highest regular-season winning percentage of any head coach in Cowboys history, and we will dedicate ourselves, in partnership with him, to translating that into reaching our postseason goals.”
Belichick and the Patriots mutually parted ways earlier this season, making Belichick a free agent for the first time in decades. He has interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons and is reportedly the “clear favorite” for the job.
Still, as the Cowboys fell behind against Green Bay, social media and NFL reporters alike were already speculating that it could be Belichick’s next job when McCarthy was inevitably fired. Instead, McCarthy will be back with the Cowboys.
McCarthy was hired to get Dallas past the divisional round for the first time since the 1995 season, the last of the storied franchise’s five Super Bowl titles.
The 60-year-old coach won a Super Bowl with Green Bay 13 years ago and reached the NFC championship game three other times in 12-plus seasons leading the Packers
