Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy addresses support he’s received from players amid uncertainty

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has endured fairly a novel season. It concerned working within the last yr of a contract, coping with an injury crisis and figuring out forward of Sunday’s primetime dwelling recreation towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that Dallas had already been eradicated from the playoffs. 

Regardless of that, McCarthy’s squad gave him a 26-24 upset win over Tampa Bay as an early Christmas reward. After the Cowboys improved to 7-8, McCarthy spoke with NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports activities Illustrated in regards to the help he is obtained from his gamers over the previous 5 weeks of motion. 

“To be frank with you, if I didn’t really feel that method, then I would depart,” McCarthy stated about his crew having his again all through the marketing campaign. “The place I’m in my profession, I’m lucky sufficient to be in a spot, and an area mentally and emotionally, the place I could make that selection. However yeah, if I didn’t really feel that I used to be linked [with the players] and placing us in the perfect place to win, then I might step apart.”

Whispers surfaced when the Cowboys have been 3-7, claiming that crew proprietor and basic supervisor Jerry Jones might half methods with McCarthy earlier than Week 18 rolled round. Dallas responded to such chatter by incomes 4 wins over 5 video games, even with injured quarterback Dak Prescott sidelined by way of January. 

Prescott, star pass-rusher Micah Parsons
and present beginning signal-caller Cooper Rush are among the many noteworthy Cowboys gamers who publicly backed McCarthy in the course of the marketing campaign’s second half. Whereas Jones offered high praise for McCarthy not too long ago after Dallas’ win over Tampa Bay, Jones hasn’t but locked the coach down by way of an extension or a brand new deal. 

“…It’s an excellent locker room, good leaders,” McCarthy advised Breer. “And rather a lot of our leaders are actually on [injured reserve]. They have been good examples, when younger guys obtained to play much more soccer than, frankly, I’d have most well-liked them to play early. But it surely’s a crew that was coming collectively, sadly, only one recreation too late. It’s a hell of a bunch. I like their consistency. They simply keep after it.”

Whereas some beforehand advised Jones might ultimately goal former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel as McCarthy’s alternative, Vrabel has extra not too long ago been linked with the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, and New England Patriots. Nonetheless, it is unclear if McCarthy will wish to proceed working for a boss who saved him in a contract yr by way of all of 2024. 

Breer famous that Cowboys gamers “have proven everybody, with their actions, what they need,” no matter what occurs when Dallas performs the 12-3 Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday. That stated, it stays to be seen how Jones would react if his membership ends the season with back-to-back losses.