The Dallas Cowboys 2024 campaign just came to a close in Week 18, but the team is already hard at work this offseason. That's because they have to decide whether or not they will be keeping head coach Mike McCarthy in town, or if they will be moving on from him. The latest update indicates that team owner Jerry Jones wants to keep him in town, but there's still a lot of work to be done between the two sides.
With McCarthy's contract running through Jan. 14, Dallas has until then to negotiate a new deal with him before he has the freedom to talk to other teams (which is noteworthy since the Cowboys denied the Chicago Bears request to interview him.) It's been reported that McCarthy has been holding “lengthy meetings” with Jones, but the two sides have not begun discussing a new contract to this point.
“They are in constant communication, all the way back from yesterday, the day before,” Ian Rapoport shared on “The Insiders.” “Lengthy meetings today McCarthy had with Stephen and Jerry Jones to my understanding, really trying to figure out where the organization goes from here and how they would move forward…From my understanding, they have not gotten to the contract negotiation part of this.”
Cowboys running out of time to prevent Mike McCarthy from hitting the market

All signs point to the Cowboys wanting to keep McCarthy around, which is consistent with the messages that Jones has been relaying to the media in recent weeks. However, with less than a week until McCarthy's deal expires, the two sides need to get to work on hammering out a new contract, or else they could risk losing him to another team, as the Bears have indicated that interest in McCarthy would exist if he can't work things out with Dallas.
Progress is being made, but there's still a lot of work to be done in order for this deal to reach the finish line. The Cowboys will certainly have a sense of urgency, because if they can't keep McCarthy in town, they will be behind the eight-ball when it comes to getting their head coaching search underway. As a result, it will be worth keeping tabs on this situation to see how it unfolds, as we could have resolution at any moment now.