Most teams with head coach and general manager vacancies have moved to the second stage of their hiring cycle. The Dallas Cowboys, though, still haven't initiated phase one even though they were eliminated from playoff contention almost a month ago.
The general feeling is that Mike McCarthy will be back, but the buck doesn't end there. The entire coaching staff, including defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and assistant head coach Al Harris, are on expiring deals.
READ MORE: 6 Cowboys who definitely won't be back next season
As of this writing, the Patriots, Giants, Jaguars, Colts and Dolphins have publicly announced their plans for their respective head coaches and general managers. Other teams like the Jets and Bears that fired their head coaches months in advance have requested several interviews.
Everything about the Cowboys' process is backwards. If Jerry Jones doesn't want McCarthy back, he's falling behind the pace as far as interviewing candidates. If Jones wants McCarthy back, the two sides need to work out a contract, which won't be smooth sailing.
Negotiating with the Joneses is never easy, but Jerry has set a patently absurd benchmark for whomever is coaching Dallas in 2025.
Jerry Jones' plans for Cowboys head coach are an insult to Mike McCarthy
"Most of the fans want everybody to be on the incentive plan," Jones told reporters after Sunday's loss. "Everybody wants it to be on the incentive plan, and so the more you can have the incentive plan, to me, the better. You’ve got the way sports is aligned with a goal of having accomplishment, and you align that with the financial end of it. For instance, I might say, look, I’m going to pay you this much, but then I’ll pay you not any more. And I know you want twice that, but if you get to the playoffs or you win a Super Bowl, I’ll give you five times that."
That quote is exactly why the Cowboys are not considered a serious landing spot for the Ben Johnson's of the world.
For starters, Jones should probably take into account what actual NFL general managers feel about incentive-based contracts - not fans. That alone is alarming. Jane Slater of NFL Media pushed back on Jones, saying that is now how the coaching market works. Jones predictably fired back that he doesn't want anyone who doesn't want to be here.
Jones wanting the Cowboys coach to be on an incentive-based contract is insulting. While there is nothing wrong with including a playoff and Super Bowl incentive, cutting the coach's salary in half to do so is absolutely ridiculous. That would make the incentives the main appeal of the contract, which, as Slater noted, is not how the coaching market operates.
There are only 32 head coach jobs in the league and we are talking about the most valuable organization in professional sport. And yet, Jones is treating the Cowboys like an entry-level position. He is cheap and a lost cause. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is.
If the Cowboys do move on from McCarthy, don't expect Ben Johnson or any of the top candidates in this year's hiring cycle to have any interest in the job.