{"id":9177,"date":"2025-01-05T11:22:27","date_gmt":"2025-01-05T11:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=9177"},"modified":"2025-01-05T11:22:27","modified_gmt":"2025-01-05T11:22:27","slug":"breaking-news-how-cowboys-coach-mike-mccarthy-is-approaching-his-final-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=9177","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS : How Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is approaching his final game"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"MIKE<\/p>\n

ARLINGTON, Texas \u2013 These days, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy possesses a deeper sense of gratitude.<\/p>\n

McCarthy\u2019s contract is set to expire following Sunday\u2019s regular-season finale against the Washington Commanders. He\u2019s indicated his desire to continue his coaching career, but owner and general manager Jerry Jones hasn\u2019t revealed his hand.<\/p>\n

Throughout a turbulent season that saw the Cowboys suffer a multitude of injuries, fall short of expectations, and ultimately get knocked out of the playoffs with three games to play, McCarthy has done a commendable job at keeping Dallas\u2019 locker room intact. On the same day they were eliminated from playoff contention, the Cowboys rallied for a victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that Jones labeled as one of the top highlights of the season.<\/p>\n

With so many questions surrounding his future, McCarthy doesn\u2019t plan to change his approach ahead of Sunday\u2019s finale at AT&T Stadium \u2013 a place that holds a special place inside his heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be honest with you, I go to the stadium much earlier this time in my career than I used to,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cI won a Super Bowl in that home locker room at AT&T Stadium. So, I have a very strong emotional attachment that it hits me every time I walk in there and every time I walk out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m definitely aware [it could be my last game as Cowboys head coach]\u2026I\u2019m not thinking about it right now. But yeah, I\u2019m definitely in tune with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s been nearly 15 years since McCarthy, 61, directed the Green Bay Packers to a victory in Super Bowl XLV. When Jones tasked McCarthy with replacing former coach Jason Garrett in 2020, he imagined McCarthy bringing important championship pedigree to a franchise that hasn\u2019t reached the conference title game since 1995.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys have won plenty of games during McCarthy\u2019s tenure, although that hasn\u2019t translated to postseason success. Over McCarthy\u2019s five seasons, the Cowboys are 49-34, but just 1-3 in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

With one game left, the Cowboys (7-9) are guaranteed their first losing season since 2020 \u2013 McCarthy\u2019s first year at the helm. Dallas rattled off three consecutive postseason appearances \u2013 along with back-to-back-to-back 12-win campaigns \u2013 between 2021-2023. Despite that success, Jones never gifted McCarthy a contract extension ahead of the final year of his deal this season.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a heavy week for not just McCarthy, but his entire coaching staff, whose contracts are all set to expire at the conclusion of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be stressful, to be honest with you,\u201d special teams coordinator John Fassel said. \u201cWhen the game ends Sunday night, the first thing everybody is going to be thinking of is, \u2018I wonder what\u2019s going to happen tomorrow?\u2019 There will be stress with the coaches. I think we all want to be here, we all get along really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jones insisted Friday that the Week 18 outcome between the Cowboys and Commanders will not influence the front office\u2019s decision on McCarthy and Co.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel good about Mike McCarthy, and the main thing is \u2013 I like that job that he\u2019s done,\u201c Jones said this week. \u201dIt\u2019s unfortunate we\u2019re having the year we had, but I feel good about Mike.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cowboys have won four of their last six games but are coming off an embarrassing road loss to the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles. And while Jones has repeatedly offered positive sentiments about McCarthy, he\u2019s never committed to him beyond this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to finish the race,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a challenging year, based on our contract situation for coaches. It\u2019s stating the obvious, but we\u2019ll have time to talk about that next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCarthy and his coordinators Fassell, Mike Zimmer and Brian Schottenheimer, have received public endorsements from multiple players over the past month.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doing the job we love to do. It is what it is,\u201d Zimmer said. \u201cWorrying about it is not going to help anything. So, we just go about our business and move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCarthy, an 18th-year coaching veteran, notably has received the strong backing of an important trio: franchise quarterback Dak Prescott, top wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and star defensive end Micah Parsons.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s tough to probably get your job done and do your job with all that hanging over your head,\u201d Prescott said of McCarthy. \u201cBut credit to him, credit to his professionalism and really his coach\u2019s style of being able to get guys\u2026ready to play and go out there and take pride in what we finish. Obviously, I\u2019m a promoter of bringing him back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Lamb: \u201cHe\u2019s a player\u2019s coach. We all love him. Everything that he does for the team and as far as leading us, just having the confidence and everything that he\u2019s willing to put on a lot for us, we love every bit of it. So as for Jerry and all those situations, that ain\u2019t got nothing to do with me. Don\u2019t try to put me in it, but we \u2013 I love Mike, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said Parsons: \u201cThe most important thing is how much love and respect I have for coach McCarthy\u2026[his future] is above my pay grade. Mike McCarthy has always been good to me. He\u2019s always been a good coach. He won me a lot of games here and I\u2019ve had a lot of success with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCarthy said Friday he hadn\u2019t had any conversations yet with Jones about his future. A league source told Lone Star Live on Saturday evening that McCarthy and Jones still hadn\u2019t started those conversations.<\/p>\n

When McCarthy arrives to the Cowboys\u2019 home stadium several hours before Sunday\u2019s kickoff, he plans to go through his typical routine, which is highlighted by him going through his play call sheet and taking a pregame stroll around the turf. His message to the team this week has revolved around \u201cfinishing our commitment to one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Said McCarthy: \u201cEverybody is clear on what this game brings and the position everybody is in.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over Mike McCarthy\u2019s five seasons, the Cowboys are 49-34, but just 1-3 in the playoffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dallas-cowboys"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING NEWS : How Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is approaching his final game - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=9177\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING NEWS : How Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is approaching his final game - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over Mike McCarthy\u2019s five seasons, the Cowboys are 49-34, but just 1-3 in the playoffs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=9177\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-05T11:22:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/dallas-Bau-8.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=9177\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=9177\",\"name\":\"BREAKING NEWS : How Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is approaching his final game - 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