Dallas owner Jerry Jones said he was “floored” by the Cowboys’ lopsided loss at home to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, and declined comment on the future of head coach Mike McCarthy.
That didn’t prevent oddsmakers from installing odds on who his successor might be.
The Cowboys are the first team in NFL history to win 12 games in three consecutive regular seasons but fail to reach a conference championship game in any of the three, according to ESPN. That will no doubt have Jones seriously evaluating the future of McCarthy, his staff and the organization as a whole.
“I don’t have any thoughts about the reasons why, or anything to do with the coaching, or the players,” Jones told reporters after the game.”
If Jones decides to move on from McCarthy, SportsBetting.ag has installed Bill Belichick as the odds-on favorite to replace him.
Belichick, who won six Super Bowl titles during his 24 years in New England, parted ways with the franchise last week. On the surface, he would appear to be an awkward match with Jones, who is known for his heavy hand over the franchise.
But the two do have a singular focus on winning titles at this juncture. And at 71 years old, Belichick may be intrigued by a team with a proven playoff roster that has struggled to find postseason success.
The book is offering odds on 30 potential candidates, ranging from legitimate names such as former Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel and current Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, all the way down to former Cowboys legends and even Jones himself.
Cowboys Next Head Coach Odds*
Bill Belichick (1/2)
Mike Vrabel (3/1)
Bobby Slowik (7/1)
Dan Quinn (8/1)
Jim Harbaugh (8/1)
Ben Johnson (9/1)
Kellen Moore (12/1)
Pete Carroll (14/1)
Mike MacDonald (20/1)
Todd Monken (20/1)
Aaron Glenn (33/1)
Antonio Pierce (33/1)
Brian Callahan (33/1)
Deion Sanders (33/1)
Eric Bienemy (33/1)
Frank Smith (33/1)
Mike Kafka (33/1)
Steve Wilks (33/1)
Brian Flores (40/1)
Jim Schwartz (40/1)
Mike LaFleur (40/1)
Raheem Morris (40/1)
Tony Romo (40/1)
Nick Saban (50/1)
Ron Rivera (50/1)
Steve Sarkisian (50/1)
Dave Canales (66/1)
Patrick Graham (66/1)
Jimmy Johnson (100/1)
Jerry Jones (1000/1)
*If not Mike McCarthy
If McCarthy is fired, it will be interesting to see Jones’ next direction. Does he prefer an established NFL head coach to push the Cowboys over the top, or an emerging coordinator who might usher in an entirely new era in Dallas?
Quinn has long been a favorite of Jones’, but the 48 points allowed on Sunday were the most in franchise history in a playoff game. It may impact Quinn’s status of being on the short list for several of the six current NFL head coaching vacanices.
McCarthy was 6-10 in his first season in Dallas in 2020, a season in which quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending injury in Week 5. Each of the past three seasons have ended with 12-5 records, but McCarthy is just 1-3 in playoff games with the Cowboys.
“This seems like the most painful (loss) because we all had such great expectations, and we had hopes for this team and thought that we were aligned and in great shape,” Jones said on Sunday.
