Mike McCarthy sends bold message to Jerry Jones after disaster press conference

It's not often that Dallas Cowboys fans have sympathy for Mike McCarthy, but it was hard (maybe impossible) not to as Jerry and Stephen Jones spewed utter nonsense for 45 minutes during the Cowboys' annual pre-draft press conference on Tuesday.

When asked about being patient with contract extensions for Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, Jerry Jones said he wants to see more leaves fall. In other words, Jones hasn't quite seen enough.

Jones also proclaimed that Prescott's supporting cast won't be as good moving forward given Prescott is due for a new deal. That is awful leadership and a terrible message to send to your quarterback who is fresh off finishing second in MVP voting.

While the Joneses embarrassed the franchise and incited their fans, McCarthy gave insightful answers to the few questions he answered. Seemingly realizing that he's in trouble this year, McCarthy has made a notable move regarding his coaching future after the presser.

Entering the final year of his contract, McCarthy has hired super agent Don Yee to represent him according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Yee represents notable NFL coaches like Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh, as well as retired seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.

Cowboys' Mike McCarthy hires agent before make-or-break 2024 season

It was reported after the Cowboys' wild card loss to the Packers that McCarthy wouldn't receive a contract extension. Jones has stated he's comfortable having coaches see out the final year of their contract. McCarthy himself has preached confidence ahead of the 2024 season, but it's also smart of him to protect his own interests going into a lame-duck year.

"I think you can't lose sight of the big picture," McCarthy said at the league meetings. "I know this has always been my approach. Make no bones about it, I am extremely blessed to be here. I'm very much engaged where my feet are and the opportunities I've had personally, I'm very blessed. I never lose sight of that. That's always been my big picture approach."

There's no telling how the 2024 campaign will play out, but the stage has undoubtedly been set for McCarthy to be the fall guy if things go awry. He's led the Cowboys to 12 wins in each of the last three regular seasons, including two division titles, but Dallas is just 1-3 in the playoffs under his watch.

Most teams would push the envelope to make upgrades after a humiliating playoff loss, but the Cowboys have sat on their hands. They pinched their pennies in free agency and blame the salary cap as to why they haven't extended their homegrown superstars. By waiting to get those deals done, those players will take up more cap space in the future, thus giving the Joneses more excuses to not spend.

McCarthy has obviously taken note of all of that. The "future" doesn't necessarily apply to the Cowboys head coach, but the timing of him hiring Yee feels far from coincidental after Jerry and Stephen spent the majority of Tuesday's presser defending their absurd logic as to how they run the team.

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