Jerry Jones 'Proud' of McCarthy: HC Has Cowboys Thinking They Played for Super Bowl

For now at least, Jerry Jones doesn't sound like somebody who's prepared to make an offseason coaching change.

The Dallas Cowboys owner was riding a high after Sunday's 26-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he offered more praise for head coach Mike McCarthy.

"I'm real proud (of the team)," Jones said, per The Athletic's Jon Machota. "And Mike McCarthy, he just won't let them not think that they're playing for the Super Bowl out there. He won't let them do it. I'm proud of that. I'm proud of the coach."

Jones added, "There's no question that we're fighting with a very limited deck out here right now, and those guys are doing a great job. All of them, the players, but my hat is off to Mike McCarthy."

Jones also wouldn't reveal how the win would impact the Cowboys' plan in 2025:

"Just so we're clear, all I can say is what good of a job he's doing. I don't have thoughts that I would share as to anything about what we do with our days after we're through playing this year. I don't have anything I would share about that."

From the moment the Cowboys declined to extend McCarthy's contract and made him a lame duck in 2024, many fans assumed it was merely a question of whether he'd finish out the season or get fired midway through.

Dallas failed to advance past the divisional round in any of McCarthy's first four years, and there was little leading one to think the story would be different now.

Those expectations were borne out with the Cowboys getting eliminated from playoff contention before they kicked off their game against Tampa Bay. But that hasn't stopped Jones from accentuating the positive.

"There's no question that we're fighting with a very limited deck out here right now, and those guys are doing a great job," he said. "All of them, the players, but my hat is off to Mike McCarthy."

Jones offered similar comments earlier this month during one of his regular appearances on 105.3 The Fan:

Still, the 82-year-old stopped short of saying Sunday night he has made up his mind in terms of McCarthy's status moving forward.

It's certainly true that things could've gone much worse for the Cowboys than they have. They're 4-3 since losing Dak Prescott to a season-ending hamstring injury. Against the Buccaneers, Dallas wasn't lacking in motivation on the field despite no longer having any tangible reward to play for.

Retaining McCarthy would likely be an unpopular decision within the fanbase, but it's looking increasingly like that's a possibility.