Despite speculation to the contrary, Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy will officially be back for a fourth season after falling in the NFC wild-card round.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones confirmed on Wednesday night his decision to retain McCarthy for the last year of his contract, citing his regular season performance as a major motivator in keeping him.
Jones said he feels his franchise is “very close and capable” of winning a Super Bowl and that continuing with McCarthy is “the best step forward for us.”
The decision pushes away the idea that someone like Bill Belichick or Mike Vrabel could step in for Dallas after a McCarthy firing.
Cowboys’ owner and GM Jerry Jones on the decision to retain HC Mike McCarthy: https://t.co/cvcEddEyzj pic.twitter.com/bQgI8Hv1sF
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 18, 2024
Cowboys fans really did not take kindly to news of McCarthy’s retention, while other NFL fans had very bewildered reactions as to why Jones didn’t make the hard call and find a new coach for his franchise.
All the same, the reactions were plentiful.
https://t.co/gLSeTA8pyW pic.twitter.com/ndllUlWs5R
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) January 18, 2024
This can’t be true https://t.co/a1Gyfig1WV
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) January 18, 2024
I appreciate that they went with the photo where even McCarthy appears confused by this https://t.co/JmO0vZ0Eo6
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) January 18, 2024
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 18, 2024
As surprised about a (non) move as I’ve been in a while. Good luck selling this to Cowboys fans for another season. https://t.co/juJwIfq2rC
— kenny g. (@Gritz_Blitz) January 18, 2024
Dallas is making the classic mistake… to fix a problem you have to admit there IS a problem. Doing the same thing and expecting different results hardly ever works https://t.co/ZMaFoPiUyA
— trey wingo (@wingoz) January 18, 2024
Oh hell yeah can't wait to see how they embarrass themselves next yearhttps://t.co/qyghf67Fvx
— Dave Rappoccio (@DrawPlayDave) January 18, 2024
Nobody should ever take Jerry Jones at his word when he says he would do anything to win a Super Bowl. Wholly unserious organization. https://t.co/B7aPDu1kGz
— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) January 18, 2024
Welp. Sorry Cowboys fans. Same thing is going to happen again next season. https://t.co/Tg4lnWQVJY
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) January 18, 2024
The rest of the NFL: https://t.co/Dmvh2vaYOy pic.twitter.com/GsDM1WMibS
— A Tribe L’d Quest… ♒️ 1/24 (@LBrothersMedia) January 18, 2024
Amazing whenever your franchise has breaking news and all their rivals respond with "thank god" https://t.co/rgyxDawgTq
— Arif Hasan, but NFL 🏈 (@ArifHasanNFL) January 18, 2024
Jerry Jones, choosing to bring back Mike McCarthy when Bill Belichick, Mike Vrabel, Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll (among others are all available) is proof: He isn't serious about winning Super Bowls. Period. https://t.co/HYA86sfkFc
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) January 18, 2024