Cowboys’ Jones says discussions with McCarthy are about future

FRISCO (AP) — Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones and head coach Mike McCarthy have discussions about the future — just not necessarily about McCarthy’s future with the organization.

“It’s implied every conversation we have about a position, about a player,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday. “Most of the time when you’re discussing a situation on this football team, you’re talking about the future. Now the future might be the next game, or it could be next month but it’s always not so much dwelling on what happened last Sunday or what happened two weeks ago, not so much there. That’s a reference point and that’s what you’ve got to make a decision on. But all that counts is the next minute and going forward from there without being any way. The future is where our decision-making is.”

The Cowboys have been eliminated from playoff contention but have won four of their last five games to improve to 7-8 despite missing several key players, such as quarterback Dak Prescott, Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence and Trevon Diggs.

Jones has praised McCarthy’s work over the last few weeks but has stopped short of endorsing the possibility of bringing McCarthy back in 2025.

“We’re just talking about what is positive right now,” Jones said. “We started the conversation talking about how good a job I think with the circumstances that we’ve been dealing with, how good a job that the coaching staff is doing. It’s led by Mike McCarthy. And that’s what we’re doing. I’m saying just what I’m saying. I’m very impressed with how this team and how it’s playing, and the level of tenacity, and I’m impressed with the fact we’ve got a lot of young players getting a lot of experience out there. The future looks bright there with those players.”

McCarthy and the entire coaching staff are on expiring contracts. With last week’s win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, McCarthy moved past Jeff Fisher for the 13th-most regular season wins in NFL history (173).

He has a 49-33 regular-season record with the Cowboys, but the team has not advanced past the divisional round of the playoffs.

On Monday, McCarthy was asked if he was eager to have some kind of resolution on his status moving forward.

“I do believe in time and place, and this is not the time or the place for me to speak on it,” McCarthy said. “Really, my focus is more about the staff. Their concern is higher for me, because change is something that happens in our league all the time. It’s part of this industry. And I understand it. I am at a different point in my life. I’m more focused on them, and I know that the best way to help everybody is to take care of what’s in front of us. And that’s why the commitment, the pride … I think it benefits everybody for me just to stay on course.”