Mike McCarthy has cut a lonely figure at times this season. The Cowboys were on a four-game losing streak before facing off against the Texans on Monday and the head coach knew he needed a result. But the misery was compounded following Monday’s Primetime flop. Once again, McCarthy’s position came under fire as it has a few times this season, with even some of the players uncertain about the future. Having dodged the bullet so far, it turns out McCarthy may yet last in his role, at least till the end of the season.

The 34-10 home loss to the Texans means the Cowboys remain without a win at the AT&T Stadium. McCarthy has been on the receiving end of subtle criticism of his tactics by team owner Jerry Jones and the 3-7 record does mean his position remains tenuous. In fact, after the defeat to the Texans, it marked the team’s longest losing streak since the 2015 season and their worst 10-game start since 2020. A pertinent question was picked up: Whether Jerry Jones think McCarthy had lost the locker room?

Jones dismissed this question saying the idea is “overblown” and now he has come out to state that he won’t be parting ways with McCarthy any time soon. Jones addressed the speculation around McCarthy’s future, implying he doesn’t feel the time is right to change the coach. “I have made a change early on a coach with Chan Gailey, and I’ve always regretted that, and I’ve made a change during the season [with Wade Phillips] and regretted that, and that’s the music I’m listening to,” Jones said.

McCarthy is in his fifth year at the Cowboys. After early hurdles, they have finished 12-5 in their last three seasons, but the criticism of McCarthy has been the team’s inability to make a deep run post-season. This season their form shows no signs of improving and their five-match losing streak is the second-worst run the franchise has had in the last 40 years. The last time the America’s Team was on such a bad run was in 2015, when they lost seven in a row and finished the season 4-12.

Jones’ recent comments echo the sentiments he expressed after the defeat to the Eagles in Week 10. At that time, Jones openly backed McCarthy as well stating, “Mike is a heck of a coach, a great coach in my mind. [He] has and should have the opportunity to do better than we’re playing right now. I haven’t had good experience changing coaches in the middle of the season.”

Meanwhile, some of the players also seem resigned to the fact that they need to improve and will have to work with what they have at the moment. Speaking after the game, CeeDee Lamb said, “I look at this as an opportunity for growth,” Lamb said. “Like my rookie season (in 2020), we went 6-10. I know every year after that, it was pressure for everybody. With that, I know that the world doesn’t end this year. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen the way that we wanted to but we’ve got to learn from these things.”

Earlier, Micah Parsons also seemed to take a dig at McCarthy. On his podcast, he talked about the HC’s future saying, “That’s above my pay grade if Mike is coaching next year. Mike can leave and go wherever he wants. You want to win games and do great things with those legends who put in more time and work than Mike McCarthy ever did.”

Head coach Mike McCarthy, meanwhile, sounded like a broken record, using “frustrating” nine times during his post-game comments. The HC blamed poor execution and discipline but remained adamant: “We’ve got to keep banging away. I do believe we’ll come out on the other side.”

It’s clear that McCarthy’s position will face a sterner reexamination once the season is concluded. Wi͏th play͏offs ou͏t of reac͏h, C͏owboys fans are ͏left hoping for a brig͏hte͏r future, whether McCarthy ͏will be a part of it seems mo͏re ͏doubtful by͏ the day. In fact, rumors are already circulating about two big names replacing him at the franchise.

Two big names linked with the Dallas Cowboys, despite Jones’s backing

While Jerry Jones has backed McCarthy at least till the end of the season, it won’t stop speculation around the hot seat at the AT&T Stadium. Two names stand out among others, the Colorado Buffs HC, Deion Sanders, who has a Cowboys connection, and regular winner Bill Belichick.

Sa͏nders has taken͏ college football by͏ storm ͏with his transformational work͏ at Color͏ado͏, ͏building a dynam͏i͏c offense. Coach Prime has stated he has no desire to swap his role at Boulder for a high-profile role in the NFL. But the allure to wake a sleeping giant from its slumber would be hard to resist.

Meanwhile, B͏elichick͏’s six Super Bowl rin͏gs make him ͏a t͏an͏talizi͏ng choice, although his deman͏d for contr͏ol ͏might clash with ͏Jone͏s’s iron grip on the Cowboys͏’ front office. But in order to improve his franchise’s fortunes, Jones might relent and give Belichick a free hand to see what he can achieve.

But for now, the Cowboys’ season seems to be slipping away. As losses mount and playoff dreams fade, even the most resilient voices in Dallas seem to have accepted what fans have been shouting for weeks—the Cowboys’ season is over.