Mike McCarthy cannot be the Cowboys coach going forward

Not all the issues are his fault, but the Cowboys can’t win with Mike McCarthy as their head coach.

Oct 13, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy comes out of the tunnel prior to the game against the Detroit Lions. / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

Jerry Jones was tired of the Dallas Cowboys falling short in the postseason. His plan for fixing the issue ended up being to put more pressure on head coach Mike McCarthy by refusing to give him any contract security beyond 2024.

His belief was that the pressure and angst created by the lack of a contract extension would bring the best out of McCarthy. Critics of his decision say it put the coach in a tough situation, causing him to enter the season as a lame duck with no true authority.

So far in 2024, it’s the critics who seem to be correct. McCarthy’s team has been haphazard, undisciplined, and unorganized — even more so than usual that is. They’ve been self-sabotaging every decent drive on GM offense while being bullied on the ground defensively.

MORE: 4 takeaways from Cowboys' disappointing loss vs. Lions

Their latest showing was a 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions, which sends them into the bye week with questions surrounding the future.

Oct 6, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy looks at his play chart against the Pittsburgh Steelers. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

For what it’s worth, Jones continues to support McCarthy, which led R.J. Ochoa of Blogging the Boys to come the conclusion that Jones is purposely building a toxic culture.

Jerry Jones knew sending Mike McCarthy into a contract year would create chaos after each and every loss with speculation coming about a firing and/or Mike's future.

100% deliberately-designed dysfunction and toxicity.

Hard for anyone to thrive in it. https://t.co/ZOZK1NoSgG

— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) October 14, 2024

Ochoa also accurately points out that the interim options are thin even if Dallas were to pull the trigger. Even so, Jones has been around the sport long enough to know that McCarthy’s future would be questioned anytime the team suffered a loss.

He’s also been in the league long enough to know that such a lack of security hurts the coach’s standing in the locker room. Players who have no reason to fear a coach are prone to tuning them out. That makes it tougher to course correct and Jones has made sure there are no reasons to worry about McCarthy.

He’s already been accused of ensuring he’s seen as the primary authority, which limits the influence any coach has. For McCarthy, it’s far worse since he’s seen as having one foot out the door. That’s why the Cowboys can’t win with him in charge anymore.

Oct 13, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy looks over his play chart during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions. / Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images

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