Will the Cowboys fire Mike McCarthy? Why Dallas’ coach is on heat seat after disappointing 2024

The end of the NFL regular season tends to come with excitement. The playoffs are on the horizon for the teams still in Super Bowl contention, and the teams that didn’t make the playoffs turn their attention to free agency and the draft. 

While there are some positives on the horizon for teams that don’t make the playoffs, there are also negatives. The NFL is a business, and head coaches are expected to deliver wins. The Jets, Saints and Bears have already fired their head coaches midseason. More head coach openings are expected. 

Dallas came into the season with high expectations. The Cowboys were 12-5 last season and won the NFC East. This year, they head into the final week of the season 7-9 and in third place in the division. Head coach Mike McCarthy did his best amidst some big injuries, especially to starting quarterback Dak Prescott. A team in win-now mode underperforming even with injuries can often still lead to a firing. 

Here is why McCarthy is on the hot seat with the Cowboys and whether or not he will get fired. 

Will the Cowboys fire Mike McCarthy?

McCarthy took over for Jason Garrett in 2020. He went 6-10 in his first year with the team and then had three straight 12-5 seasons until 2024. The problem is that in that time, Dallas made the playoffs three times and only won one game. The Cowboys finally got off their playoff losing streak with a 2023 Wild Card round win over the Buccaneers but lost in the Divisional Round to the 49ers. 

Team owner Jerry Jones helped Dallas to three Super Bowl wins since purchasing the team, but the most recent one was in 1996. It’s been nearly 30 years since the franchise hoisted the Lombardi. Jones is already sending money to improve the team. He made Prescott the highest-paid player of all time and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb the second-highest-paid non-QB ever. 

Jones came under scrutiny for how he handled the running back position for Dallas, but Rico Dowdle has developed into a solid starter. The Cowboys owner likely should have signed Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley or Josh Jacobs, but it feels like the team should still be in contention for the Super Bowl.

All it takes is one bad season to sour a fanbase or team with a coach. McCarthy has the support of the team’s stars like Micah Parsons and Dak Prescott, but his current contract reportedly ends at the end of the season. Dallas could fire McCarthy, but it could end up just not bringing him back and replacing him with a different head coach in the offseason.

The main reason for firing McCarthy would be because of his consistent good but not good enough results and the hope a new coach could help get the franchise over the hump and back to the Super Bowl. 

Who would replace Mike McCarthy in Dallas?

Before Dallas committed a large chunk of change to Prescott, there was a notion that the franchise could look at Shadeur Sanders in the 2025 NFL Draft. Many analysts speculated that the team that drafted Sanders could also be a team that needed a new head coach and could hire current University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.

If the Cowboys decided to go with Sanders, they could keep Prescott for a season and then look at trading him. This would allow Sanders to sit for a year, which has historically worked out better for starting quarterbacks than starting Game 1 as a rookie. Deion is also a former Cowboy, has a relationship with Jones and knows what is expected from the team.

Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson will be highly sought after this coaching cycle. Detroit has one of the best offenses in the league and Johnson has shown plenty of creativity with his offensive playcalling.

Other potential options to replace McCarthy would be Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, former Titans head coach and Browns analyst Mike Vrabel and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. 

Mike McCarthy coaching record

McCarthy first took over as a head coach in 2006 when he was with the Packers. He spent 13 years with Green Bay and this was his fifth year with Dallas.