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For most of the 2024 season, it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that the Dallas Cowboys would have a new head coach in 2024. That may not be the case, however, according to the franchise’s Hall of Fame quarterback, Troy Aikman.
Aikman, who guided the Cowboys to three Super Bowl wins in the 1990s, said prior to Monday night’s game against the Bengals that he expects Mike McCarthy to remain the team’s head coach in 2025. McCarthy, whose current deal will expire this offseason, has led the Cowboys to consecutive wins following a 3-7 start.
“Short of Bill Belichick, I don’t know who you’re going to bring in that has a better resume,” Aikman said, via The Athletic. “I just feel that for a team that I really do not think is that far away … I like the way this team is playing right now, even without their franchise quarterback.
“I sense that it’s a team that really believes in Mike McCarthy. I feel the locker room wants him back. I think he’s a really good football coach. I believe Jerry Jones thinks he’s a really good football coach, too. … As we stand and talk right now, I expect Mike McCarthy to be back in 2025.”
Aikman’s comments regarding the Cowboys players is in line with Dak Prescott recently said regarding McCarthy, who prior to this season had led Dallas to three consecutive 12-win seasons.
“I’m going to push and be in the corner and pushing for Mike to get a second contract … and just the opportunity to do things more with a healthy team,” Prescott told CBS Sports. “I’m all for it. It’s been tough, and [I] feel helpless in the sense of not being able to help him in a year knowing how big this is, being able to get out there to play well to get victories and even in the games that we played, not being able to play as well or get victories, was very frustrating.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones himself recently alluded to the possibility of re-signing McCarthy, who won a Super Bowl as the Packers’ head coach prior to coming to Dallas. Jones knows first-hand the challenges associated with changing coaches, and he surely doesn’t want to go that route again unless he truly doesn’t feel that he has another choice.
“I don’t think that’s crazy at all,” said Jones, who has made eight coaching changes during his 35-year run with the Cowboys. “This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there and done that. He has great ideas. We got a lot of football left.”
To his credit, McCarthy has shied away from publicly discussing his future. He’s instead remained focused on keeping the Cowboys’ season alive. Despite a slew of injuries (including a season-ending one for Prescott), the Cowboys are still mathematically alive in the NFC wild-card race.
“We got to win. We deserve to win. We deserve the opportunity to win,” McCarthy said last month. “And that’s why I’m putting the best people out there, and right now they’re young … but we need to do whatever the hell we need to do to win.”
Aikman knows a good coach when he sees one. His first two Super Bowls were won with Jimmy Johnson, who led the Cowboys to the mountaintop just three years after Dallas went 1-15. Aikman feels that McCarthy is of similar ilk and should continue to be Dallas’ head coach moving forward.
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