Dak Prescott Says Mike McCarthy Deserves Another Chance, Contract

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is out of the season with a serious hamstring injury and HC Mike McCarthy is coaching for his job. 

Prescott said Tuesday that he believes in McCarthy and wishes he could do more to help him secure an extension. 

“Your coach seems like he’s playing on his last contract and [I’m] almost feeling helpless like I can’t help him in this situation, especially a guy you believe in so much and you believe in being your head coach,” Prescott tells Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports. “Control what I can control, help and support Mike to every extent that I can.”

“I believe in him wholeheartedly,” Prescott said of McCarthy. “I don’t want to necessarily get into the nuts and the screws of it all obviously, but I think he definitely deserves a chance – another contract and a chance to coach this team amongst more influence. ‘On his terms’ may be a good way to say it.

“But I wholeheartedly believe in him.”

The assumption has been that McCarthy needs to lead the Cowboys on a playoff run this season to get an extension, but with Prescott out for the season, this is an unlikely outcome. 

However, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said recently that an extension for McCarthy is still a possibility. 

“I don’t think that’s crazy at all. This is a Super Bowl-winning coach,” Jones said. “Mike McCarthy has been there and done that. He has great ideas. We got a lot of football left.”

Jones has been a patient owner for the most part and it’s possible that while the season was a disappointment, he could reconsider moving on from McCarthy and instead figure out a deal to keep him in Dallas. No guarantees of course, but this is at least an outcome floated by Jones. 

McCarthy, 61, began his NFL coaching career with the Chiefs back in 1993 as an offensive quality control coordinator. He bounced around with the Packers, Saints and 49ers before the Packers hired him as their head coach in 2006.

The Packers made the decision to move on from McCarthy following a disappointing loss to the Cardinals in Week 13 of 2018. He was out of football in 2019 before being hired by the Cowboys in 2020.

During his 13-year tenure in Green Bay, McCarthy led the Packers to a record of 125-77-2 (61.8 percent), which includes nine playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title in 2010.

McCarthy has a record of 47-32 (59.5 percent) in five years with the Cowboys, with three playoff appearances and a 1-3 record in the postseason. 

We’ll have more on the Cowboys and McCarthy as the news is available.