"Deadlines make deals" is a philosophy Jerry Jones has lived by throughout his time as owner of the Dallas Cowboys. While it worked recently with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, it had the opposite effect on Mike McCarthy, who is officially out as the Cowboys' head coach after five years.
McCarthy's exclusive negotiating window was set to expire on Tuesday. Following the report that McCarthy and Dallas agreed to moved forward together and negotiate a new deal, it was widely assumed that the two sides would find common ground right at the buzzer.
Apparently, contract talks never made it off the ground. NFL Media insider Tom Pelissero noted that McCarthy and the team couldn't agree to a length of contract.
More details about the "negotiations" have trickled out. McCarthy reportedly wanted a multi-year contract, which is hardly unreasonable, but Jerry Jones seemed hell-bent on offering him an incentive-laden deal.
While McCarthy wanted to continue as Cowboys head coach, longtime team insider Jane Slater understands the 61-year-old got fed up with Jones' stinginess and responded accordingly.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones screwed himself in Mike McCarthy contract talks
.@SlaterNFL on NFL Network: "I think ultimately maybe Mike McCarthy himself got a little bit frustrated with the way that these... if you want to call it negotiations... conversations... started turning."
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) January 13, 2025
Slater's report all but confirms McCarthy used his leverage to his advantage. That is ironic because it is Jones' fault in the first place that McCarthy even had any leverage.
Letting McCarthy play out the final year of his contract is one thing, but the longer Jones delayed his decision the closer McCarthy came to becoming a free agent. Teams were inevitably going to show interest in McCarthy. Like clockwork, the Chicago Bears stripped Jones of whatever leverage he had when they requested to interview McCarthy for their head coaching job.
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It is embarrassing that Jones let talks trickle into the second week of the offseason. It is even more pathetic that the Cowboys denied Chicago permission only for McCarthy to essentially walk out the door after it became clear he wasn't going to get the offer he wanted. Good on McCarthy for using his leverage against Jones.
Not only are the Bears expected to have interest, but the Saints will likely make a hard push for McCarthy as well.
Don't sleep on Las Vegas, either. Tom Brady is a minority owner of the Raiders and he showered McCarthy with praise seemingly every time he called a Cowboys game for FOX. A longtime McCarthy admirer, Brady could talk Mark Davis into hiring McCarthy.
Granted, none of those openings are as attractive as the Cowboys' gig, but McCarthy's $8 million salary with Dallas ranked far down the head coach totem pole. Broncos head coach Sean Peyton, who has nearly an identical resume to McCarthy, makes $18 million with incentives to boot.
All we're saying is Jones better have quite the trick up his sleeve. His decision-making led to McCarthy having all of the leverage and ultimately leaving to pursue other opportunities.
With Micah Parsons due for an extension this offseason, it is only a matter of time until Jones put on another negotiating disaster-class.