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

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

Jones released a statement saying he and McCarthy – whose contract was set to expire tomorrow – had been talking since the end of the season and ultimately agreed he would not return.

“Throughout Mike McCarthy’s tenure here, including over the last few weeks, I have been very complimentary of the work he has done,” Jones said. “This applies to our record over this period, to the unity and culture of our team, to Mike’s qualifications and successes, and on a personal level as a great human being. I have great respect for Mike and he has led the team through some very unique and difficult times during his tenure.

“Over the past week, Mike and I have had the opportunity to conduct a joint review of all aspects of the past season, our players and our staff, and have also spent considerable time discussing the way forward for the team. These discussions were in-depth and given appropriate time and depth. However, before we got to the point of contract negotiations, it became clear to all of us that it was best for each of us to go in a different direction. I thank Mike and wish him, his wife Jessica and their family all the best. They have been a wonderful part of our community here. We will immediately begin a search process to hire the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

McCarthy will now become a free agent and he is expected to be a candidate for vacant head coaching positions in Chicago and New Orleans, and perhaps elsewhere. And the Cowboys will now look for a coach who can be the first in 30 years to lead them to the Super Bowl.