The head coach of the Dallas Cowboys has finished his five-year contract. And if Sunday’s game against the Washington Whatevers is indeed Mike McCarthy’s final act with the team, he was basically Jason Garrett 2.0.

The Cowboys under McCarthy were not that much different than they were under Garrett, a small data point better. McCarthy’s winning percentage with the Cowboys is .583; Garrett’s was .559.

For those of you who must know, the Commanders rallied to defeat the Cowboys on a touchdown pass with two seconds remaining to win, 23-19. The loss puts an end to this Old Yeller of a season. Quarterback Trey Lance made his first start for the Cowboys, and he played like a backup that the Cowboys stupidly spent a fourth round pick to acquire.

All speculation about the team focuses on what Jerry will do with McCarthy, and what McCarthy will do with Jerry. The Cowboys owner may let this question drag out for the next two, and possibly three, weeks.

Just because the Cowboys aren’t in the playoffs means they won’t be relevant.

“Absolutely,” McCarthy said when asked if his first preference is to remain the head coach of the Cowboys. “I have a lot invested here, and the Cowboys have a lot invested in me. There is a personal side to all of these decisions, and they all point in the right direction.”

Now sure his agent will love this level of candor, but honesty changes fast in pro sports.

After the game, Jerry talked for nearly 50 minutes with reporters and answered every question from McCarthy’s future, to his thoughts on Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Jerry said nothing definitive about his head coach returning, but this potential extension of the relationship will come down to the specifics. Mike will want to come back, if. And Jerry will want Mike back, if.

McCarthy’s agent is already hard at work trying to convince the world that his client will be the top candidate for every job outside of the White House. Jerry is hard at work trying to convince you to give him your money.

McCarthy is a proven commodity as an NFL head coach, and owner Jerry could do a lot worse than handing him a three-year extension. McCarthy could do worse than signing it. He can also do better, and he should.

McCarthy may not be the No. 1 candidate for the many openings that are coming, but he will be on every list. If the Chicago Bears offer him their head coaching job, he should take it.

McCarthy has followed the similar path as one of his predecessors, Bill Parcells. These conventional ball coaches liked and enjoyed Jerry; they didn’t love the parameters that come with coaching his team.

The one big difference between these two men is their respective interest, and involvement, in player acquisition. Parcells famously wanted to help “pick the groceries” whereas McCarthy’s preference in the “shopping” is limited.

There are certain realities that come with the business card that reads, “Head Coach, Dallas Cowboys.” It is a great, fun, job, but it is different.

Mostly, the type of visibility that Jerry seeks is unlike anything in sports; it’s more aligned with the circus, reality TV and Instagram models. And then there is occasional reminder of who really runs the football team, every part of it, including the decision to trade a fourth round pick to San Francisco for a backup quarterback.

According to people familiar with the interview process, Jerry doesn’t hide anything. But eagerly nodding along in an interview to whatever specifics Jerry is casually spewing is much different than living with them.

It has been evident the last few years that McCarthy can work with the eccentricities that come with his job, but he wasn’t loving it. Garrett was the same way.

It was former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron who said, “Coaches got a shelf (life); some coaches got 50 years, some coaches got 12. Mine was six.”

McCarthy walking away after five years is beginning to feel appropriate.

Of the eight head coaches who have worked for Jerry, McCarthy’s five year tenure is the second longest behind Garrett’s 10.

McCarthy has done nothing but live up to his end of the contract and coach the team to the best of his abilities to win a game. Any evaluation of McCarthy should include the injuries suffered to starting quarterback Dak Prescott, both in 2020 and here in 2024.

Any evaluation of McCarthy should include the hole-ridden roster he was handed to start this season.

“I’m a winner. I know how to win,” McCarthy said after the game. “I’ve won a championship. I won a championship in this building. That’s who I am. We’ll see where it goes.”

Any evaluation of McCarthy should also include concerns about play calling, clock management, offensive schemes that offered minimal creativity, and teams that were out-coached in the playoffs. The playoff loss to finish the 2023 season in the wild-card round against Green Bay was the worst of McCarthy, and broke this team.

The dividing line between the McCarthy Cowboys and the Garrett Cowboys was supposed to be the playoffs; McCarthy was hired to win playoff games. With the Cowboys, he has one. Garrett had two.

This Old Yeller season is mercifully over, and now both the owner and his head coach must make a decision.

The Cowboys could do worse than bring McCarthy back, but McCarthy could do better.

He should go.

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