Jerry Jones had his reasons for keeping the status quo in Dallas.
The Cowboys and their owner announced Wednesday night that Mike McCarthy would be retained for the 2024 season despite a first-round playoff exit.
Jones, 81, opened up about his motivations in a statement, saying he believes in the head coach and that the defeat at the hands of the Packers wasn’t just because of McCarthy, 60.
Jones even held himself “accountable” for the 48-32 loss at home on Sunday.
“Certainly, Mike’s career has demonstrated postseason success at a high level, and we have great confidence that can continue,” Jones said..
“Further, our loss on Sunday is shared by everyone here, not just Coach McCarthy. Our players. Our coaches. Our front office. Myself. There is accountability for our results. I am accountable for our results. The lens we use to view and evaluate Coach McCarthy is holistic.”
Questions loomed for the Cowboys after another playoff flop under McCarthy, who has a 1-3 postseason record with the club since taking over as head coach in 2020.
Jones admitted his frustrations over the loss — a game in which the Cowboys entered as favorites — to Green Bay.
“This is one of my [biggest] surprises since I’ve been involved in sport, period,” Jones said after the game. “To that degree, I know how disappointed everyone is.”
The team has excelled in the regular season under McCarthy, going 42-25 (.625 winning percentage) with three straight 12-win seasons.
Keeping this in mind, Jones said Wednesday that the team is better off with McCarthy.
“I believe this team is very close and capable of achieving our ultimate goals and the best step forward for us will be with Mike McCarthy as our head coach,” Jone said. “There is great benefit to continuing the team’s progress under Mike’s leadership as our head coach. Specifically, there are many layers of success that have occurred this season as a result of Mike’s approach to leading the team, both with individual players and with our team collectively.
“Mike has the highest regular season winning percentage of any head coach in Cowboys history and we will dedicate ourselves, in partnership with him, to translating that into reaching our postseason goals.”
This echoes the sentiments that quarterback Dak Prescott shared after the loss.
The signal-caller threw a league-high 36 touchdowns and 410 completions this year, earning himself his third Pro Bowl nod and putting himself in the MVP conversation.
