Mike McCarthy issues strong statement on lack of contract beyond 2024

Mike McCarthy enters the season with no job security, but the Dallas Cowboys head coach is solely focused on winning.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy / Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

Mike McCarthy is entering the final season of his contract with the Dallas Cowboys, but the veteran head coach isn't going to focus on his lack of job security. In fact, he sounds like a man who is done speaking about the situation.

During a media session on Monday, McCarthy was asked about his contract and he said it's not something he wants to dive into. He did give a few reasons, one being that his focus needs to be on winning.

He added that "winning pays the bills," so he understands what he has to do to get Jerry Jones to break the checkbook open again.

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He also says he can't demand his players focus their energy on winning while he comes to the podium and discusses anything else himself.

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy on his contract situation, entering the final year of his deal: "I really don't want to speak on it. I haven't spoke on it because there's really nothing to talk about, because it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is today. And that's really…

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 2, 2024

It's an admirable approach from McCarthy and in all honesty, it's the only one he can have at this point.

McCarthy is 42-25 in four seasons with Dallas and has led them to three-straight 12-win campaigns. The problem is that they're 1-3 in the postseason and were just blown out at home by his former team, the Green Bay Packers.

The front office wants to believe in McCarthy but they're also hesitant due to his postseason struggles. Jones believes dangling the contract carrot in front of McCarthy will help him do a better job.

We don't know yet if that strategy will work but McCarthy is making sure he doesn't turn around and show any frustration from this method when dealing with his players. And that's the right call because allowing his contract situation to become a focus for the team is a recipe for disaster.

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