Some former Cowboys stars know it's time for a change in Dallas.
Troy Aikman and Dez Bryant took different approaches to how to get their message across, but both expressed the same sentiment Monday that the Mike McCarthy era will soon be over.
Let's start with Bryant's “Burn it all down'' line after he hit the X during a 34-10 home loss to the Texans on Monday Night Football, earning him the nomination to be Dallas' next manager.
“I'm @dallascowboys at heart. If I were the Cowboys, I'd fire everyone after this season.” Bryant tweeted. “We have young and hungry talent in the next draft. We will also consider @DeionSanders as our next head coach.”
Aikman, who called the game, took a more nuanced approach.
“Mike McCarthy is a great football coach,” Aikman said. Every terrible announcement. “He proved it in Green Bay. He proved it here. Winning 12 games three years in a row, you're doing the right thing. But then you still don't get a contract extension. It's hard to imagine him getting it now.”
McCarthy, 61, is in the final year of his contract with the Cowboys and seems almost certain not to receive an extension.
The Cowboys are 3-7 this year, a big step back after earning the No. 2 seed in the NFC last season.
Green Bay ended the 2023 campaign by defeating Dallas in the wild-card round, which raised questions about McCarthy's future with the organization.
Owner Jerry Jones opted to keep McCarthy without an extension, allowing him to enter the year as a proverbial lame duck.
Jones said there would be no layoffs during this lost season, but gave McCarthy no guarantees beyond that.
With the Cowboys losing five in a row and Micah Parsons seemingly criticizing McCarthy recently, there are questions about whether he has lost the team.
Jones denied that theory Monday.
“It's just too much to lose something for the team,” Jones said after the loss. According to ESPN. “They are, first of all, natural competitors. Secondly, they are very proud of the fact that they are professional and are probably disappointed in the way their plays are executed. But it's not something that a brother or a cousin should give up on…It's true that everyone is disappointed, but you know you have to step in front of the other in order to go. It's a big difference.”
The Cowboys will look to stop their losing streak against the Commanders on Sunday.
