Texas — Shortly after the Dallas Cowboys suffered their most lopsided home loss in his 35 seasons as owner and general manager, Jerry Jones used a slew of adjectives to describe his emotions.
“This was very concerning,” Jones said in the wake of Sunday’s 47-9 dud against the Detroit Lions, “very humbling and felt bad because of all of our great fans visiting the stadium. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Indeed, if the Cowboys (3-3) plan to re-assert themselves as NFC contenders coming out of a bye week, they’ll need to make adjustments. Sunday, the offense stagnated, turned the ball over five times and never reached the end zone. The defense floundered, too, allowing the Lions (4-1) to score on their first nine full possessions.
But as Jones assesses how best to move forward, he said he does not view removing head coach Mike McCarthy as a viable option.
“Just so we’re clear, I’m not considering it,” Jones said.
Then, Jones looked at the reporter who asked whether McCarthy’s job was in question.
“I will not be a hypothetical in that matter,” Jones said. “Do you think I’m an idiot? Do you? OK. Well, I’m not going hypothetical with you about whether I’d consider a coaching change in light of [the] timing we’re sitting here with. I’m not. At all.”
McCarthy, in his fifth season in Dallas, owns a 45-28 record as Cowboys coach and has the team one game back of first place in the NFC East through six games this year. Still, questions about McCarthy’s future linger.
Though Dallas strung together three straight 12-win seasons, Jones allowed McCarthy to enter the last year of his contract this season without an extension. McCarthy, who won a Super Bowl 12 years ago as the Green Bay Packers’ head coach, has won just one playoff game with the Cowboys and faces pressure to end a 28-year Super Bowl drought.
The Cowboys this season have struggled to instill confidence in fans. McCarthy’s team is 0-3 at home, and familiar concerns — from poor starts to an ineffective run game to defensive collapses — emerged during each loss at AT&T Stadium.
Last week, the New York Jets made the rare move to fire a head coach during the first half of a season, but McCarthy doesn’t appear in danger of succumbing to that fate soon.
“We’re disappointed that we’re 3-3,” said Jones, who turned 82 Sunday. “I don’t necessarily, totally, blame [it] on McCarthy. The players will tell you they had something to do with it, too. There’s another part of the staff that will tell you, and the owner sure will tell you he had something to do with it. So, it’s not all on [McCarthy].”
When the Cowboys left Sunday’s blowout loss, they entered a bye week they can use to heal or address a roster ravaged by injuries. They’ll return to game action Oct. 27 with a matchup at the San Francisco 49ers, the reigning NFC champions and the team that eliminated Dallas from two of the past three postseasons.
As they move toward the brunt of the schedule, quarterback Dak Prescott said he and teammates support McCarthy
“I’ll go to war for that guy, with that guy, every single day,” Prescott said. “And I’m not the only one in that locker room. I feel like everybody feels that. If you heard what he said after that game … [it was a] strong message. Strong message.
“In a loss, to be able to feel that way and show those emotions and respond — I’ll follow him. I’ll follow him. I know he said it to you guys, he said it in there, he’s looking in the mirror, as we all should. Thankful for him as my coach.”
McCarthy didn’t face questions about his job security during his postgame news conference, but he lamented the team’s five turnovers and said he was confident improved play will come. And he did have a message for the fans who’ve filed into AT&T Stadium this season for three games and walked out with three losses.
“Trust me,” McCarthy said, “we’re disappointed, too.”