Mike McCarthy’s lame-duck season is spiraling down

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy entered the 2024 NFL season already on shaky ground. After his Cowboys were demolished in the playoffs by the Green Bay Packers to end the 2023 season, there was a discussion about Jerry Jones going ahead and firing him then and starting anew. Jerry Jones decided not to do that, but he also didn’t extend McCarthy’s contract, creating a lame-duck season for the veteran coach.

Now the season is spiraling down. Dallas has a 3-5 record, haven’t played well in many of their games, and face a prolonged absence from their starting quarterback. Dak Prescott will miss significant time due to a hamstring injury, leaving the Cowboys season even bleaker than it was the previous week.

It has been argued that the Jones family didn’t really put all their resources into this season, setting McCarthy up to fail and then let the whole franchise undergo a re-build for 2025.