Mike McCarthy will stay on as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys after announcing his departure.

Jerry Jones, the general manager and owner, met with McCarthy on Wednesday following the coach’s completion of the players’ departure interviews.

In a statement issued by the squad, Jones stated, “I think this team is extremely near and capable of attaining our ultimate goals, and the greatest move forward for us will be with Mike McCarthy as our head coach.” “Maintaining the team’s success under Mike’s guidance as our head coach has many advantages.”

Jones was “floored” by the Cowboys’ wild-card loss to the Green Bay Packers at AT&T Stadium. When questioned about McCarthy’s future after the Washington Commanders regular-season finale, Jones responded, “We’ll see how each game goes,” while also praising the coach.

This gave rise to rumors that Jones may take McCarthy’s position.

Jones stated in a statement released on Wednesday, “Our defeat on Sunday is felt by everyone here, not just Coach McCarthy.” “Our athletes. Our mentors. our main reception area. By myself. Accountability exists for our outcomes. I take responsibility for our outcomes. We examine and assess Coach McCarthy from a comprehensive viewpoint. Even if our playoff record and the outcome on Sunday disappointed us all, I fully support him in his role as our head coach and our capacity to accomplish our objectives.”

McCarthy finished the regular season with a 42-25 record and two NFC East championships in 2021 and 2023. The Cowboys made history by being the first team in the Super Bowl era to win 12 games in three consecutive seasons without making it to the conference finals at the very least.

McCarthy has a 1-3 record in the postseason with the Dallas Cowboys, having lost two of the previous three wild-card round games at home against the San Francisco 49ers and Packers. The only postseason victory he ever had was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round in 2022, which ended up being Tom Brady’s last game.

After being fired in Green Bay, McCarthy took a year off before being rehired in 2020, partly to accomplish a feat that his predecessor, Jason Garrett, was unable to do: win a Super Bowl. The Cowboys continue to hold out hope that McCarthy can win two titles in that scenario. In 2010, he and the Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.

According to Jones’ statement, “Mike’s approach to managing the club has resulted in many layers of success this season, both with individual players and with our squad collectively.” “Mike has the greatest regular season winning percentage of any Cowboys head coach in history, and we will work together to leverage that to help us accomplish our postseason objectives. Undoubtedly, Mike’s career has shown excellent playoff performance, and we are quite confident that it can continue.”

If McCarthy’s five-year contract from 2020 remains intact, his return creates an intriguing situation. Jones twice had Garrett coach in the latter year of his deal. Garrett was rewarded with a five-year deal in 2014 after the Cowboys finished 12-4, won the NFC East, and fell to McCarthy’s Packers in the divisional round. Garrett finished 8-8 in 2019 and was cut after missing the playoffs.

Additionally, in 2024, quarterback Dak Prescott will begin the last year of a four-year, $160 million contract. His contract has a no-trade provision, and the Cowboys are not allowed to assign him the franchise tag in 2025. The second-highest amount in the NFL, $59.4 million, is expected to be deducted from his salary limit.

Prescott, who is now 2-5 in the playoffs, would have a lot of power over the team that took him in the fourth round of the 2016 draft if he could lead the Cowboys to at least a conference championship game, if not a Super Bowl, in 2024. In the event that he doesn’t, the Cowboys will be able to let him go after having started nine full seasons without winning the championship.

Dan Quinn, who is set to meet with five teams—the Carolina Panthers, Commanders, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers, and Seattle Seahawks—may also indicate that the Cowboys are looking to add a defensive coordinator.

“While we’re not going to address specific players, extensions, or free agents at this point, we will begin our process of review and decision-making regarding everything that impacts our team and roster,” Jones said in his statement. “It deserves our deepest review and consideration, and it will get it.”

After Kellen Moore took over as playcaller in 2023, McCarthy supervised Prescott’s greatest season (2022) with 36 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. In 2022, Prescott had 15 interceptions, which matched for the most in the NFL, despite missing five games due to a broken thumb. The Cowboys were seventh in yards per game (376.1) and first in the league in points per game (29.9).

McCarthy is now the third-most successful active coach with 167 victories, behind Andy Reid and Mike Tomlin, due to the recent changes in the statuses of Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll.