FORT WORTH, Texas — If ever there was a time when Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones should contemplate giving up one of his many titles, yesterday is the day.

Since that’s not possible, try today. If he waits to surrender his title as the general manager of the Cowboys he will most likely lose one of his best, most loyal, and longest tenured, employees over that job designation.

If/when Will McClay leaves, this is the type of departure that can leave a mark.

Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay has more than earned an opportunity to be a GM of an NFL team. In his current role, McClay is a de facto GM of the Cowboys, but he’s not the actual GM.

If McClay is the GM of the Cowboys, they don’t trade for Trey Lance, and they probably don’t take the risk on drafting linebacker Jaylon Smith. And they never sign defensive end Greg Hardy. Those are the types of moves that remind everyone who the real GM is of the Cowboys.

While Mike McCarthy Watch will dominate the Cowboys’ offseason, Will McClay Watch is of equal importance, even if it’s boring. Both of their respective contracts are up.

McClay is nearing 60, and if he’s going to be an actual GM he needs to do it sooner than later.

Circumstances in his family life would now make an exit far easier than previous offseasons. The Cowboys' best chance of retaining McClay would be another raise, or job title. Jerry has been known to be liberal with raises for staffers he wants to retain.

Jerry enticed a young Jason Garrett to remain as an offensive coordinator over head coaching jobs with a bump in 2007; he made a similar move for Dan Quinn to stay on as defensive coordinator three years ago.

To ensure McClay stayed, Jerry gave him a three-year contract with a raise in 2022. That contract expires momentarily.

This time, there may not be any way Jerry can keep McClay. That includes money. The best chance is to surrender a job title that Jerry has had since he bought the team, in 1989.

Do not underestimate one detail about the Cowboys: Coaches and scouts love working for this team, and for Jerry, despite his quirks. They’re treated well.

McClay is in his 21st season with the Cowboys, and he knows every facet, detail and reality about working for the team. He started out as the defensive coordinator of the now defunct Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League.

He is one of those rare front office execs’ who worked his way up doing everything, and just continued to perform well in whatever role he accepted. In this long process he has earned respect all over the NFL. The man is a rock grinder whose methods at player evaluation are deliberately kept a state secret, but work.

Since he was named the team’s assistant director of player personnel in 2013, the Cowboys have consistently drafted well, from rounds 1 to 7. Whether the head coach was Jason Garrett or McCarthy, since McClay has assumed these personnel roles the Cowboys have found, and developed, players.

When quarterback Tony Romo suffered a back injury during the 2016 preseason, it was McClay who constantly lobbied the coaching staff and the rest of the front office to go with rookie Dak Prescott. The team finished 13-3 that season, and lost in the divisional round on a last-second field goal against Green Bay.

Under McClay, there has been a purpose, direction and defined goals in what to look for in scouting, drafting, and developing a player. That has not always been the case with the Cowboys.

While there have been some duds in there — Trysten Hill, Taco Charlton, Mazi Smith — the drafting and player additions under McClay have yielded solid professionals.

Micah Parsons, Tyler Smith, Zack Martin, Tank Lawrence, Tony Pollard, DaRon Bland, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Jourdan Lewis, Dorance Armstrong and many others were all selected on McClay’s watch.

There is a counter to this argument. The record. The Cowboys have ranged from pretty good to, at best, good and never good enough.

The Cowboys will soon finish with just their fifth losing season since 2003. If it makes you feel any better, in that same time the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders have both had 15 losing records.

The “All In” Cowboys are nearly done, and now it’s decision time for Jerry ‘n’ Co.

They may ultimately hand McCarthy a new contract, but it’s hard to see how they keep McClay without Jerry giving up a title he clearly loves.

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