Mike McCarthy won't be returning to coach the Dallas Cowboys in 2025, as multiple reports indicated Monday morning that the organization and its head coach for the previous five seasons were parting ways.
How did we get here?
NFL Network reporter Jane Slater joined the K&C Masterpiece on Monday and indicated that McCarthy might have been the one to walk away from the Cowboys.
"I was beginning to get a sense that this wasn't going to move forward with Mike McCarthy. I don't have this confirmed yet, but my sense based on some of the conversations I've had, it doesn't sound like this was Jerry deciding that he no longer wanted Mike here," said Slater. "This might have been Mike saying, 'I'm going to move on.'
"A lot of that, according to staffers I've spoken had to do with his contract sticking point. He was already frustrated. He's done this on and off the record with reporters [to explain] how frustrated he was about how he and his staff went into this year with expiring contracts. I think they felt like it limited them. That it was tough on their families. ... Everyone knows that's part of the business. But I think what a lot of people don't have the appetite for is 'All right, the season came to an end, they were already on expiring contracts, should this decision, and if you weren't going to bring them back, at least there would be some parameters in place.' And that didn't seem to be the case.
"The way it was characterized to me, the conversations with Mike in the last week weren't about hard numbers or (contract) length. It was really just about the end of the season, how things could have gone. And I think that rubbed him a type of way."
McCarthy also spoke about how interested the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints would be in McCarthy, how surprised the Joneses could be that McCarthy walked away, and much more.