Troy Aikman says quiet part out loud about Cowboys' head coaching job

The Mike McCarthy saga came to a predictable end on Monday as the Dallas Cowboys mutually agreed to part ways with their head coach after five years.

There have been conflicting reports in terms of what caused the breakup, but the general understanding is that McCarthy and Jerry Jones did not see eye-to-eye about a contract. Some reports claim contract length was the biggest roadblock, while others say the two sides never even discussed a deal.

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The Cowboys are going to conduct an extensive search and none other than Deion Sanders has already emerged as a top candidate, per FOX Sports insider Jordan Schultz. Several insiders, including ESPN's Adam Schefter, have confirmed Schultz's intel, so it seems Sanders is being seriously considered for the job.

It will be fascinating to learn who else is on Jones' list of candidates. By dragging their feet with McCarthy, though, the Cowboys missed their window to interview Lions coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. If Johnson and Glenn pique Dallas' interest, they now have to wait until after Detroit's season ends to interview them.

Jones' arrogance in that regard is the clearest sign yet that he views the Cowboys' job as the most desirable. Hall of Famer Troy Aikman would push back on that.

Troy Aikman put the Cowboys on blast after Mike McCarthy's exit

On the call for the Monday Night Football clash between the Rams and Vikings, Aikman was asked pregame for his thoughts on Mike McCarthy's exit. The Cowboys legend did not mince words about his former team.

"I thought Mike McCarthy would be the head coach, so this is a bit of a surprise for me today that he's not going to be," said Aikman. "And what went into those conversations, I'm not exactly sure. But it suggests that there's not a real plan."

"As far as a coveted job, I don't know that that is accurate. I do think the Cowboys are obviously a high profile team and whoever is the head coach of that team is certainly going to draw a lot of attention, but I think most football people that take over as a head coach, they want to do it on their terms, and that's hard to do."

Per usual, Aikman is absolutely spot on with his analysis. It aligns with what Dak Prescott said about McCarthy deserving another year to run the show " on his terms." An anonymous Cowboys player added that McCarthy built "something pretty good over the last five years with one hand behind his back."

It is no coincidence that current and former players alike see the forest for the trees. The Cowboys' job is fantastic for media exposure and building a brand, but in terms of being a desirable landing spot for a head coach, how can that be the case?

The Joneses have no idea how to navigate the salary cap, regularly get taken to the cleaners at the negotiation table because they wait until the last minute to get serious and still believe that building through the draft is the only way to assemble a contender. They do not spend on external free agents, making their margin for error in the draft remarkably small.

To say nothing of all the off-field drama. Jones speaks highly of his coaches to the media, McCarthy included, but that doesn't stop him from dangling them to the media for attention.

You think it's a coincidence that the Deion Sanders report dropped right before halftime of Vikings-Rams? Absolutely not. That was strategic on Jones' part and ESPN ate it up, spending most of its halftime show dissecting McCarthy's exit and the team's interest in Sanders.

The Cowboys were rightfully dragged for screwing themselves out of interviewing Johnson and Glenn, but are we to assume Johnson and Glenn would even have interest? As Aikman stated, the job is not as desirable as Jones and the media make it out to be.

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