Jerry Jones says he and Mike McCarthy have mutually agreed to go in different directions

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones says he and former coach Mike McCarthy mutually agreed the team needed a new coach in 2025, and McCarthy in 2025.

Jones released a statement saying he and McCarthy – whose contract expires tomorrow – had been talking since the end of the season and eventually agreed not to return.

“Throughout Mike McCarthy’s tenure here, including the last few weeks, I’ve been very complimentary of the job he’s done,” Jones said. “It was about our record over that period of time, the unity and culture of our team, Mike’s qualifications and success, and on a personal level as a tremendous human being. I have a lot of respect for Mike and he has led the team through some unique and challenging times during his tenure.

“During the past week, Mike and I have had the opportunity to review together all aspects of the past season, our players and staff, and we have also spent a lot of time discussing the team’s progress. These discussions were thorough and given the appropriate amount of time and depth to cover. Before we got to the point of contract negotiations, however, it became mutually clear that it would be better for each of us to go in a different direction. I thank Mike and wish him, his wife Jessica and their family the best. They have been a wonderful part of our community here. We will immediately begin the search process to hire the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.”

McCarthy will now become a free agent and is expected to be a candidate for head coaching vacancies in Chicago and New Orleans, and possibly elsewhere. And the Cowboys will now begin their search for a coach who will lead them to the Super Bowl for the first time in 30 years.