The Dallas Cowboys have been one of the more underwhelming teams during the 2024 NFL season. They’ve disappointed in the playoffs in previous years, but they’ll finish with their worst regular season mark in any of the past four campaigns, as they sit at 6-8 with three games left to play.
Those three contests may be the last ones with Mike McCarthy as their head coach.
Vrabel Listed As The Favorite To Be Cowboys Next Head Coach
There were calls for the Cowboys to relieve McCarthy of his duties this past off-season. Three straight 12-5 regular season finishes had resulted in just one postseason victory, and many questioned whether the 60-year-old coach was the right man for the job. The only person whose opinion on the subject mattered was team owner Jerry Jones, who opted to keep McCarthy around for another year.
Jones has tiptoed around the subject during interviews this year. There are even rumors that the owner could be considering extending the contract of his head coach. But given the recent playoff failures coupled with this year’s underwhelming performance, McCarthy’s expiring deal may not get renewed for 2025.
Who is the favorite to replace him?
The hot name in the rumor mills is Deion Sanders. The Colorado head coach could be looking to make a step-up into the professional ranks after a quick and successful college career, and doing it on a big stage with a marquee team like the Cowboys would be just his style. But Coach Prime’s future is very much up in the air, and options are aplenty. When it comes to moving to Dallas and leading America’s Team, BetOnline has Sanders listed at +700, which are the third-shortest odds on the board.
“I don’t know that there’s ever been a team that needs Mike Vrabel more than the Dallas Cowboys.”
— @getnickwright on the Cowboys falling to the Bengals 27-20 pic.twitter.com/kKtmHO48Fr
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) December 10, 2024
The current leader is Mike Vrabel. The former linebacker spent six years as the leader of the Tennessee Titans, and finished his time with a 54-45 record, two division championships, and an appearance in the AFC Championship Game. He has spent the last year away from the game, but will be one of the top candidates for many of the teams that will be looking for a head coach this coming off-season. Vrabel is listed at +250 for the Cowboys job.
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is sandwiched between Vrabel and Sanders on the odds board, coming in at +500. Brian Flores and Lane Kiffin round out the top-5, both with designations of +1000.
Other interesting names further down on the odds board are Kliff Kingsbury (+1400), Kellen Moore (+2500), and Tony Romo (+4000).
