Jerry Jones called Sunday’s blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers the most surprising of his career, and didn’t hold back when addressing the players in the Dallas Cowboys‘ locker room afterward.
According to Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis, Jones unloaded on the team shortly after Dallas was ousted in the NFC Wild Card 48-32.
“We got to win” Lewis said, was Jones’ message to the players, via CBS Sports.
The Cowboys won the NFC East division championship in 2023, after finishing 12-5, earning the No. 2 seed in the postseason, only to fail to reach the NFC Championship Game for the 29th consecutive season.
“This is the Dallas Cowboys,” Lewis says Jones stressed. “We had everything to win. We can’t let this feeling keep going on. I just feel like he (Jones) wants to win right now. The urgency is now. It was always that, and we always had that on our shoulders, but he made that clear. That was his point.”
Since Jones purchased the Cowboys in 1989, the organization won three Super Bowls in the 1990s but has yet to find a way to replicate that level of postseason dominance.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has guided the Cowboys to three consecutive 12-win seasons, but Dallas has just one playoff victory over that span.
Future of Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy Is Uncertain
The Cowboys’ early postseason exit, combined with Jones’ sense of urgency to make a legitimate Super Bowl run cast doubt over head coach Mike McCarthy’s chances of returning in 2024.
However, as Jones plots what’s next for McCarthy, Cowboys players came to the defense of the 60-year-old head coach.
“Mike McCarthy, that’s my guy man,” Cowboys special teamer KaVontae Turpin said, via CBS Sports. “He gave me an opportunity, especially coming this year on the offensive end,” Turpin said Monday. I just got mad respect for Mike man. Whatever he do, he got my blessing.”
Since being hired by the Cowboys prior to the 2020 season, McCarthy has led the Cowboys to three playoff berths in the past three seasons, while posting a 42-25 record.
Lewis hopes McCarthy gets to finish what he’s started with the Cowboys.
“This is one of the hardest jobs in America, quarterback and the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys,” Lewis said. “I feel like he’s done a tremendous job all things in consideration. It’s hard, all things considered … We were struggling to be over .500. He had three straight 12-win seasons. So yeah, I hope so (McCarthy returns).”
Jerry Jones Mum on Mike McCarthy’s Future
McCarthy’s future is in Jones’ hands, and as of Sunday after the game, it does not sound like the 81-year-old owner has made a decision.
“I don’t have any thoughts about the reasons why,” Jones told reporters. “Or anything to do with the coaches or the players. I want to give Green Bay a lot of compliments and credit. This is one of my most surprises since I’ve been in sports, period.”
If Jones decides to move on from McCarthy, the Cowboys will have no shortage of top candidates to consider, with the likes of Bill Belichick, Jim Harbaugh, Mike Vrabel, and Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quin among the most sought-after coaches this hiring cycle.
