ARLINGTON, Texas — The credits are now rolling on a season the Cowboys can only rightfully describe as a horror movie, going on to lose in the regular season finale as Marcus Mariota lifted the Washington Commanders to victory on a game-winning throw to Terry McLaurin that finalized Dallas' record at 7-10 — with a historically poor 2-7 record at home.
Up next comes a laundry list of tough decisions, and for all involved.
Contracts are set to expire on Mike McCarthy, Mike Zimmer and much (if not all) of the assistant coaching staff, and the Cowboys also have 21 players who, in one way or another, will be labeled a free agent (absent a deal) in March; and that is all just the tip of an iceberg that owner and general manager Jerry Jones will attempt to navigate around over the next several weeks.
Jones held court following the conclusion of the season at AT&T Stadium, touching on a variety of topics that include McCarthy, Zimmer, Micah Parsons and the 2025 outlook of a team that saw it's 2024 season derailed in all the ways.
On a timeline for a McCarthy decision:
"I'll follow the kind of the timeframe that I've done in the past. So the way that it's evolved in the past will be a timeframe, and I can tell you the past is not necessarily consistent in terms of a timeframe. … At the risk of talking about something that I don't want to talk about at this time, but we've got a lot of work to do, but certainly we're all looking for ways to get better.
"... That's what the next few days and weeks or about now, founded on everything that's happened this year and everything that's happened over the last four years, for they're not really much different than any time that we've had a year that is over. I've had coaches under contract that I thought we might consider a change and they were thinking maybe a change under contract. So this business of under or out of contract is not an influencer with me at all."
On if the timeline might mirror the Jason Garrett divorce:
"Well, two things happened there. We loved working with Jason, so [that] was hard. I actually had worked with him for almost 15, 20 years. I had never not written a check to a Garrett, since I owned the Cowboys, ever.
"There was always a Garrett on the end of one check at least out there. So that was hard to do from a relationship standpoint. And so that gives you an idea, but the process involved a lot of work, a lot of time, a lot of spending — looking at options of hearing people's perspective. I'll visit with coaches and players ad nauseam over the next [several] days."
On the status of Mike Zimmer:
"Well, being me, I have only thought about whether I want him to keep coaching for the Cowboys, and not about what he's thinking now. He'll have something to say about it, won't he?"
On if he regrets not putting a better roster on the field for McCarthy:
"Well, I think that's fair. I think that's very fair. And I always provide the roster for the coaches. And so if you don't get there, then you've always got some second guessing. And yes, I second guess myself all the time. So the answer is yes.
"... We've got some work to do and we need to do some things differently and we can, and that's usually the case, but we can really do some things differently and we've got some commitments that we have in place that are real cornerstones of what we ought to consider."
On when contract talks will begin with Micah Parsons:
"I'll talk to Micah. I'll talk to him about it. As a matter of fact, I think he's called and I think he's sitting with me at the Cotton Bowl, so that's probably where we'll do some talking."
On if a potential Micah Parsons' deal could land before training camp:
"I'm not going to alter my timeframe in any kind of negotiation over somebody thinking that one of them [might have] been a little more together in training camp, and that they would've had a better year. I don't buy that and I'll never buy that."
On if "all-in" will be the mantra for 2025 as well:
"All-in is pretty good with Dak Prescott's [contract], how many hundreds of millions is it? Is that enough in for you? Okay. I'm not kidding. Is that enough? Is CeeDee Lamb's enough in? We really went all in with Dak. We put a cornerstone that we work with here and we're going to work with in these decisions we're making, work with as we look ahead the next three or four years — that decision was made when we signed Dak."
"... I think we've got in place some of the best quarterbacking there is in the game. I think we've [also] got the basis of great protection for that quarterback when he's done his best, as we've been the strongest on the offensive line. And I think you saw out there that we have the ability to get a rushing attack too, because we got to go out there with it. So, maybe skeptics and possibly doubters in the beginning, but it turns out that shows you what you'd hoped for.
"I like where we are there and I like some of the skill players that we've got on the defensive side of the ball. I like our special teams personnel and so I see a lot. Man, lemme tell you something, I've been with Cowboys for 35 years and the majority of it doesn't have the positive prospects ahead that when I look to the future, the majority of it was less than we've got looking to the future."
On if he'd ever consider giving up GM duties:
"No, just no. I bought the team. I think the first thing that came out of my mouth when somebody asked [after that transaction], 'Did you buy this for your kids?' I said, 'Hell no. I bought it for [myself], and I didn't buy an investment. I bought an occupation and I bought something that I was going to do for the rest of my life, and that's what I'm doing.'
"And so, no. The facts are that since I have to decide where the money's spent, then you might as well cut all the bulls-it out. That's who's making the call anyway."
