For most of the season, it was assumed that the Cowboys would be looking for a new coach. Late in the year, owner and G.M. Jerry Jones seemed to be warming up to the idea of keeping Mike McCarthy around.
Last week, during the team’s exclusive window for talking to McCarthy, they refused to let him talk to the Bears. That created the impression that the Cowboys would try to work something out with McCarthy.
And while Jones is now saying that the two sides decided to part ways without negotiations, the truth seems to be that they couldn’t get past the basic issue of contract duration. Jones would have wanted something short. McCarthy would have wanted more security. They reached an impasse before it was time to talk annual average. And now the Cowboys have moved on.
So what’s next for Jerry?
It’s impossible to rule out the Cowboys and McCarthy ultimately deciding to get back together again, if/when McCarthy doesn’t get an offer from a team like the Bears or the Saints. Especially since quarterback Dak Prescott (and others, like linebacker Micah Parson) have expressed a desire for continuity. If he’ll take a short-term deal, why would Jerry refuse?
Beyond McCarthy, where will Jerry look? The traditional categories are coordinator with no head-coaching experience, fired former head coach, and college coach.
The hot coordinator is Ben Johnson, the trick-play wizard of the Lions’ offense. Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has worked for Jones in the past. But if Jones is inclined to follow the common approach of finding someone who is the exact opposite of his last coach, Jones could look to a younger defensive coach. (He hasn’t had a coach with a defensive background since Wade Phillips.)
As fired former head coaches go, how about Bill Belichick? Belichick historically raved about the Joneses when the Patriots and Cowboys prepared to play over the years, and Jones said last year there’s “no doubt” he could work with Belichick — after deciding to keep McCarthy for the final year of his contract.
Belichick wants back in. He wants to catch Don Shula for the all-time wins record. He took the North Carolina job because no one would give him a wink-nod indication that he’d be the coach who gets the job at the end of the inevitable search process. Nothing he or anyone else might say erases the term that lets him walk away from North Carolina for only $10 million.
In past years, there was a belief Jones was enamored with Jon Gruden. Yes, his lawsuit against the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell would be a complication. Jerry surely believes he can talk his way through whatever he needs to talk his way through in order to do whatever he chooses to do.
As college coaches go, we caught wind over the weekend of a rumor that Jones might be interested in Texas coach Steve Sarkisian. While unsubstantiated, it’s worth mentioning his name as the Cowboys embark on their search.
There’s also the possibility that Jones will try to strike a deal with another team for an established coach who is currently employed by another team. He’d have to be willing to give up one or more draft picks to make that happen.
Whoever takes the job will have to be willing to deal with Jerry being the voice of the team. Twice per week on radio and after most games. The coach will also have to tolerate Jerry’s affection for charging fans to parade around the facility, gawking at players and otherwise getting in the way of the work the team is trying to do.
And, obviously, the coach will only be the cook. The Joneses will pick the groceries.
They currently have a one-item list: Coach. However it plays out, they’ll make sure that the shopping spree attracts as much attention as it possibly can.