Cowboys' Mike McCarthy to Return as HC for 2024 NFL Season After Packers Playoff Loss

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy will return for the 2024 season, team owner Jerry Jones announced Wednesday.

ESPN's Adam Schefter initially reported the news.

A similar story played out for the team as a once-promising season came to a bitterly disappointing end. The Cowboys won 12 games for the third straight year under McCarthy but lost to the Green Bay Packers 48-32 in the opening round of the playoffs.

Anything short of a Super Bowl appearance was bound to feel underwhelming for fans when Dallas looked at times like a genuine title contender.

But the manner of the Wild Card Round defeat left fans and even Jones "floored." The Cowboys trailed by 27 points in the first half and allowed the Packers to score almost at will. Green Bay averaged 7.7 yards per play.

For Dallas, getting its doors blown off overshadowed nearly everything that unfolded in the regular season.

Dak Prescott led the league with 36 passing touchdowns, the defense thrived for extended stretches with Micah Parsons leading the efforts, and things seemed to line up when the Cowboys clinched the NFC East with two straight wins to end the regular season.

Especially with the absence of one truly dominant team in the NFC outside of arguably the San Francisco 49ers, the stars seemed to finally align for Jones in his quest for a fourth Lombardi Trophy.

Instead, more postseason heartbreak beckoned.

That inevitably cast doubt on McCarthy's future, although Jones addressed any rumors before the playoffs even started during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan (h/t Bobby Kownack of NFL.com):

"I don't know how I could be any clearer. Coach McCarthy is under contract for next year. So, that's not an issue. Secondly, I couldn't be more pleased with what he's done, and how he's coached. … I certainly haven't sat down here right in the middle of the playoffs and started talking to him about a contract. Why would you do that?

"And by the way, he's the busiest cat in all of Texas. … So, the last thing that I want to do is spend any time talking with him about these kinds of things, on agreements, extension of agreements, especially when I've got one. So, that's it."

You can use a lot of words to describe Jones since he took control of the Cowboys, but reactionary isn't one that has always applied.

Jason Garrett wasn't fired after going 8-8 in each of his first three full years at the helm. Dave Campo got the benefit of a third season after the Cowboys won 10 games across his first two years. Wade Phillips made it halfway through his fourth season before he was given the ax, having guided Dallas to two playoff appearances before that.

Jones, who turned 81 in October, hasn't lost that sense of patience.

Absent an extension, McCarthy will now head into the final year of his contract with the Cowboys. Keeping a head coach in a lame-duck position seemingly suits nobody, but ownership may see the expiring deal as an opportunity to make a clean break if Dallas can't make a breakthrough in 2024.