Black Monday was three days ago and the Dallas Cowboys still have not made a decision on Mike McCarthy. They are seemingly the only team in the NFL whose head coach is in limbo. To make matters worse, Dallas' entire coaching staff has no idea what the future holds.
There was finally movement on the McCarthy front late Tuesday when the Cowboys denied the Chicago Bears' request to interview McCarthy.
It took 24 hours for Jerry Jones to get back to Chicago. That is virtually unprecedented, but that is how this regime operates.
The whole ordeal is so toxic and backwards that everyone, including the national media, has sided with McCarthy. Forget the bloom being off the rose with Dallas' front office. The flower is dead. It hasn't been watered in weeks. Their public imagine has arguably never been worse.
It's gotten so bad that an anonymous Cowboys player criticized Jones in support of McCarthy to NFL Media's Jane Slater. The player insinuated that McCarthy is not allowed to run the show on his own terms.
Anonymous Cowboys player criticizes Jerry Jones in support of Mike McCarthy
I asked a player if Mike McCarthy should return and he had this to say
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) January 6, 2025
“I only think it’s fair if he gets one more shot but more on his terms from the standpoint of really being able to run it how he wants.” He went on to say “ Whoever else you go with there’s going to be an…
"He did build something pretty good over the last 5 years with one hand behind his back," is an incredibly damning quote.
There's no way to know specifically what the player meant by that, but it sounds like Jerry Jones' meddling is worse behind the scenes than what's been led on. Regardless, the player's argument is almost identical to what Dak Prescott said last month in support of McCarthy
Prescott was adamant that McCarthy deserves coach the team "on his own terms." It seems that many players want Jones to step aside and let McCarthy run the show. His flaws are well-documented, but we're talking about a Super Bowl-winning head coach who's won over 60% of his games in 18 seasons.
At the same time, the anonymous player wants Jones to get McCarthy more help in one area: the weight and training room.
"More help. I mean like more bodies," the player said, via Slater. "Most places got so many hands on deck to cater to guys. Britt (Brown) is awesome and cares a lot but he only has a couple of guys to help. Same with Harold (Nash) he has the respect and love of the locker room but having another person or two to focus solely on recovery managing, etc. so players will feel more taken care of and the staff can focus on building the performance program more."
The player makes an excellent point about Dallas being understaffed in the weight room. It's impossible to say if the team's injury crisis is a product of that, but an extra few coaches would certainly lessen the burden on director of rehabilitation Britt Brown and strength and conditioning coordinator Harold Nash.
In retrospect, it is patently absurd that Brown and Nash are (seemingly) the only two coaches present when players are training or recovering.
Forbes reported as recently as November that Jerry Jones is worth over $16 billion. And yet, he doesn't want to spare what would amount to pocket change to create a more calming workplace environment.
It is one thing to steer away from the norm. However, the inefficiencies that Dallas continually and intentionally operate with at the top of the organization is a special kind of inept. They do almost everything the exact opposite of how it should be done.