Late Sunday night in the Dallas Cowboys locker room, when player A 26-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneershead coach Mike McCarthy was walking through a pleasant scene when he saw Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones near an entrance. Earlier in the day, the two had shared a conversation steeped in frustration after learning the Cowboys had been eliminated from the playoffs by a win over the Washington Commanders. But now, as McCarthy approached Jerry, the tenor of the day had changed.
Jerry smiled. And when McCarthy put his hand out for a shake, the owner instead opened his arms and embraced his head coach. He then spoke to McCarthy for a few moments, placing one hand on the coach’s shoulder and the other gently tapping his chest with a fist. As the conversation ended, Jones tapped McCarthy a few times on the shoulder and pumped his fist. All of this, perhaps not coincidentally, unfolded in front of a “Sunday Night Football” camera televising the emotional exchange to whatever part of the Cowboys audience was still watching.
If you were going to guess what’s going on with the Cowboys head coach and franchise owner right now, this was a valuable piece of video for two reasons: First, it’s clearly something that Jerry — still very familiar with optics and its power. Theater – wanted people to see. Whether it was a public display of pride or affection that McCarthy had earned or whether Jones simply wanted to paint a picture on his words that night, he knew where the moment would go. in a word, everywhere. And another reason the moment matters? Jerry knows this is coming at a time when the primary conversation about McCarthy is one of his employment status, a situation Jerry created when he told his head coach about his contract. chose to go into the final year of which had no discernible public mandate. An extension can be obtained.
Let’s be honest about this happy but complicated embrace as it progresses: these two men created it. By allowing McCarthy to play that stretch of games, Jerry didn’t elaborate on what might be next for the Cowboys’ coaching staff. And McCarthy saved arguably his best coaching for this part of the season when there was nothing more than dignity to leave.
Make no mistake, that’s what we saw last night. McCarthy showcased a locker room that is still galvanized despite missing out on a postseason goal. They pulled it out with a slew of injuries to the offensive line and backup quarterback in Cooper Rush, not to mention wideout C.D. Lamb, who played Sunday with a nagging shoulder problem. Add to that the short-handed defense that overwhelmed the Buccaneers’ good offense and literally took a win away in the final minutes of Sunday night, when Cornerback Darwin Bland took a hit from Tampa running back Rashad White.. It was a moment that capped several big plays on both sides of the ball, surely stopping a game-winning drive that seemed very attainable for quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The buzzing feeling? The Cowboys’ playoff hopes are dead, but the attitude about the rest of the schedule is anything but buried. Instead, there’s a narrative emerging about culture — about whether there really is an underlying strength that Dallas can display in the final weeks of the season that says something about this team and coach. That might be enough to satisfy the hopes of the franchise’s cornerstones, including Lamb, quarterback Dak Prescott and edge rusher Micah Parsons, who have it all (in some ways). Endorsed McCarthy’s return in 2025.. Of course, Jerry has heard that message, and it’s left him to find reasons to keep McCarthy beyond three straight 12-win seasons before 2024.
Afterward, Jerry praised the winning effort over the Buccaneers, but excitedly made it clear that it had sparked something in him.
“Those guys came out and played like they were fighting to go to the Super Bowl in the championship game,” Jones said afterward. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of them and the coaching staff. That really shows me something.”
For his part, McCarthy tries to put a finer point on what he is.
“I just think (the effort) shows you who they are,” McCarthy said. “I think everybody says coach always talks too much about the locker room — well, that’s what I’m talking about. When I talk about it, ‘ It’s a great locker room.’ ) which we have already discussed.But when it came time to play They played their asses off and I can’t tell you how proud I am.
Of course, that kind of peak — winning four of the last five games, going 7-8 with a chance to finish the season at 9-8 — comes with a measure that goes beyond just a great locker room. There are fair questions to be asked about where this locker room culture was during a brutal five-game losing streak from mid-October to mid-November. It was a stretch that eliminated Dallas in three of those games against the Detroit Lions (47-9 loss), Philadelphia Eagles (34-6) and Houston Texans (34-10). And it wasn’t long before Jerry was openly questioning parts of Dallas’ scheme, while sometimes going off on weird postgame diatribes that had little to do with the here and now.
Those were the days of Bill Belichick possibly being the next Cowboys coach, and they weren’t that long ago. But times can change quickly with Jerry, too. He climbs the heights of Everest after victory and descends Death Valley after defeat. All of this usually results in McCarthy’s own roller coaster when it comes to his future employment.
Right now, the Cowboys are winning again — even if it’s too little and too late when it comes to the postseason. But as the victories have begun to pile up on the ledger and the support of key players has increased in the public’s (and Jerry’s) consciousness, the frustration has begun to soften where it counts. You hear it in Jerry’s words. You see it in the arms and the hug between the owner and the head coach that seems like a deliberate message to the fans.
Things are changing. A 9-8 finish and positive feedback from his players pointed to Mike McCarthy as something Jerry has yet to offer him.
Extension of contract.
