The Dallas Cowboys have just two games left in the regular season, which means Mike McCarthy has two weeks before his contract expires.
Despite waxing lyrical about McCarthy for the last month, Jerry Jones still has not extended the head coach's contract. Jones could easily put an end to all the speculation about McCarthy's future by asking him to sign the dotted line.
READ MORE: Jerry Jones finally admits to mistake Cowboys fans warned him about in March
Ex-Cowboys coach Jason Garrett thinks Jones want to evaluate Dallas' performance against the Eagles and Commanders, respectively, before making a decision. Troy Aikman, meanwhile, vehemently believes that McCarthy will be back in 2025.
Former Cowboys rival Alex Smith also thinks McCarthy's done enough to save his job, as he revealed on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown. However, insider Adam Schefter pushed back on Smith's take and in doing so added a shocking new wrinkle to this melodrama.
ESPN's Adam Schefter thinks Mike McCarthy could leave the Cowboys on his own terms
"When I say maybe, it's not that he's not deserving," said Schefter. "It's that it goes both ways. Number one, Jerry Jones has to decided I want to renew him, and McCarthy has the ability to go talk to whoever he wants about a head coaching job. So he can go listen to the New Orleans Saints, where he's coached before. He can go listen to the New York Jets or any team that has an opening and wants to talk to him."
Alex Smith: "I think [Mike McCarthy] saved his job."@AdamSchefter: "Maybe."
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) December 29, 2024
Schefty believes retaining Mike McCarthy won't be solely on Jerry Jones. McCarthy can take a look at other options 👀 pic.twitter.com/DmjtODjHVD
The national media likes to rag on McCarthy, but he would be among the top coaching candidates available this hiring cycle. It's not inconceivable that he would draw interest if he spurned Dallas. The 61-year-old has won a Super Bowl and owns a .612 winning percentage in his coaching career.
In addition to the Saints and Jets, the Bears are also in the market for a new head coach. Of course, that list could grow tenfold over the next few weeks. The Giants, Jaguars, Raiders and Patriots all could enter the sweepstakes.
Of the teams Schefter mentioned, though, McCarthy would be out of his mind to ditch Dallas for the Saints or Jets.
New Orleans is projected to be nearly $65 million over the cap, while New York is arguably the most dysfunctional team in football thanks to owner Woody Johnson, who can't help but inject himself in personnel decisions.
It doesn't take a football savant to realize the Cowboys are the most attractive of those options. McCarthy has a good thing going in Dallas, but who's to say the former Super Bowl champ doesn't want a change of scenery after four years of working under the Joneses?
Schefter certainly thinks that could be a possibility. As the most plugged-in insider in the business, that is very notable.