Dallas' head coach said he did a deep dive into what went wrong for the Cowboys when Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
The Cowboys' owner confirmed Wednesday that McCarthy will remain as head coach, despite much speculation that he would be the replacement following another early exit from the postseason.
However, the decision for him to remain with the team appears to have been taken only after the two sides held a nearly three-hour meeting on Wednesday.
“It was a long meeting. I think it was a little over three hours. We talked about a lot of topics. The first one was obviously the disappointment at the end of the season.” McCarthy said Thursday..
McCarthy and the Cowboys faced tremendous pressure to make the playoffs after three consecutive 12-win seasons, but lost 48-32 to the Packers in the wild-card round.
Dallas hasn't advanced past the divisional round since 1995, the last time the Cowboys won the Super Bowl.
Despite the futility of the playoffs, McCarthy told reporters Thursday that he wasn't concerned about his job situation heading into Wednesday's meeting with Jones.
“Honestly, all I'm worried about is my family,” McCarthy said. “I'm very confident in who I am. That's not enough. So I'm very confident in what we've done here and where we're going from here. I also have great confidence. That's really how the meeting ended. And not only where to go, but also what to do.
“The work isn't done yet. And we both know it.”
Jones said he still trusts his head coach, which was a big takeaway in Wednesday's statement.
“There are significant benefits to continuing the team's progress under Mike's leadership as head coach. Specifically, this season as a result of Mike's approach to leading the team, both individual players and the team as a whole. has had a lot of success,” Jones said.
