A year ago, after the Cowboys were bounced in the playoffs by the 49ers, owner/GM Jerry Jones didn't immediately address questions regarding the coaching staff, particularly Mike McCarthy.
While there were no major changes on the staff then, the topic of job status never seems to go away here with the Cowboys.
On Tuesday, Jones might have at least ended the conversation for now.
When asked on 105.3 "The Fan" during his regular radio segment, Jones scoffed when approached about McCarthy needing to win this game against the Bucs to save his job.
"No, I don't even want to … no. That's it," Jones said. "I don't need to go into all the positives or minuses. I've got a lot more to evaluate Mike McCarthy on than this playoff game."
McCarthy has led the Cowboys to consecutive 12-win seasons, the first coach to do that since Barry Switzer (1994, 1995) and just the fourth coach in franchise history.
But Switzer, Jimmy Johnson and Tom Landry also managed to have postseason success, something that has avoided McCarthy in his first two seasons.
Will this year be different? We're all about to find out as the Cowboys look to finally defeat Tom Brady, who is 7-0 lifetime against this franchise, including a 19-3 win over Dallas in Week 1 of this year.
And after that game, which included several key injuries to player such as Dak Prescott and Jayron Kearse, the Cowboys found a way to rally.
McCarthy's mantra this season is "Resilience" and his team showed it following that game against Tampa Bay, reeling off four straight wins with backup QB Cooper Rush.
"I can't tell you how much confidence I've got in Mike and our coaching staff being on top of where we are and this team right now," Jones said. "I have complete confidence in this coaching staff. It's outstanding."
