The end of the Mike McCarthy era as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys came after five seasons, when he was set to renew his contract, it was reported earlier in the week that they had not reached an agreement.
Although in the first reports, insider Tom Pelissero of NFL Network revealed that McCarthy and the Cowboys management had not been able to reach an agreement on the length of the contract, which expired on Tuesday, January 14, new details have emerged about the real reason why negotiations stalled.
Head coach Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys officially parted ways earlier this week after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a new contract. According to reports, Jerry Jones’ succession plans may have been a factor in the failure to reach an agreement.
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NFL expert Jane Slater revealed that Jerry Jones‘ plans for McCarthy to remain in charge for a while, was to have former Cowboys tight end Jason Witten on his coaching staff to groom him to be his successor in control and that suggestion was what stalled the negotiations
“I understand that Jerry has spoken to Jason in recent weeks and I think he was part of the plan that Jerry had initially when he was going to bring back Mike McCarthy,” Slater told NFL Network, adding that “the plan was to make him some kind of heir. Mike McCarthy surprised him when he decided he wanted to put an end to these conversations.”
Is Deion Sanders an option for the Cowboys?
The list of candidates to take Mike McCarthy’s vacancy includes Robert Saleh and Deion Sanders, although Jason Witten, Pete Carroll, Mike Tomlin, Kellen Moore and Aaron Glenn have also been mentioned
As for whether Sanders is a real option, Slater added that Jerry Jones is interested, but she is not sure if Coach Prime wants to leave the comfort of being with the Colorado Buffaloes for the pressure of the NFL.
“I think Jerry’s interest is absolutely real. I guess the question is, does Deion want to come here? The reason I ask that is because I’ve talked to a lot of people close to that program… it’s the autonomy that Deion enjoys there. Not to mention the staff. He has a very large staff there and, as one person told me today, ‘Is Jerry going to allow him to bring all of them?’ Mike McCarthy was asked to cut his staff and Jerry is not very happy with the salaries he pays his coaches here,” Slater told NFL Network.
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