The Dallas Cowboys fell to the Washington Commanders 23-19 on Sunday in what could be the final game for head coach Mike McCarthy.
The Cowboys played well in their season finale, holding a lead late. However, Commanders backup quarterback Marcus Mariota hit Terry McLaurin on a 5-yard touchdown pass with just seconds left to give Washington the win.
Dallas finished the season a disappointing 7-10, but the loss helped their position in the draft. However, it’s still to be determined who will be the Cowboys’ skipper next year as they look to use that selection to improve after the disappointing year.
After the loss to the Commanders, McCarthy was spotted embracing members of his staff in the locker room.
#DallasCowboys coach Mike McCarthy meets and embraces other members of his staff at the #Cowboys locker room after their season finale vs. Washington…
McCarthy’s contract with #Dallas expires January 14th.#NFL pic.twitter.com/dBefq1hO9z
— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) January 5, 2025
“He’s 100% gone. Don’t think he’d do that if he was about to be renewed,” one fan said.
Another added: “Don’t let the door hit you! Good riddance.”
McCarthy is in the final year of his deal and there have not been substantial talks on an extension. His contract is set to expire on Jan. 14. McCarthy has mostly avoided talking about his future publicly.
“I do appreciate the opportunity to speak on it. I’ve answered this question the same for however many months now, so I think the focus, I need to make sure I’m doing exactly what I’m asking everyone else to do. We need to finish the race,” McCarthy said recently. “It’s been a challenging year, based on our contract situation for coaches. It’s stating the obvious, but we’ll have time to talk about that next week.” McCarthy has a 49-35 record as the Cowboys’ head coach. He previously led Dallas to three consecutive 12-win seasons, although playoff success has been hard to come by.