It would be a surprise to see the Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy at AT&T Stadium next season. It would probably be more surprising if the team had seriously underperformed this season, in which its owner considered it to be “all in.”

This season tends to be worse than McCarthy’s first year Dallas in 2020. The offense has been inconsistent. And while injuries have blighted this season from the start, McCarthy has more to gain from an extension than if he manages to get his job back by mid-January.

McCarthy’s job isn’t all about regular-season success. THE Dallas Cowboys are a team determined to win championships – even though almost three decades have passed since their last world championship title.

While McCarthy had three consecutive 12-win seasons and two NFC East championships, he only has one playoff victory to show for it. And that’s not enough to get another chance at a championship.

Jones hired McCarthy hoping to get the McCarthy who played in two Super Bowls and won one with Aaron Rodgers back in Green Bay. Instead, it became clear that having Jones at the forefront of the organization is likely preventing the team from being the dominant team it was.

According to ESPN insiders Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler, both don’t think McCarthy returns after this season. Fowler even said he thought it would likely take a deep playoff run for him to earn a new contract with Dallas when the season begins.

And he’s not wrong.

The Cowboys are now 3-6 and haven’t won in a month. They’ve lost four straight games and haven’t scored more than 25 points since Week 1 against Cleveland. There is no confidence that McCarthy can turn this team around.

And even if they managed to sneak into a playoff spot, there’s no certainty that McCarthy could win more than one playoff game.

Jones is going to have a busy offseason. On the one hand, he understood what the term “all in” means. And he also realizes that while the team has been good over the past three seasons, the current players on the roster have a ceiling.

They need reinforcements to get where they want to get. That includes strengthening the running game and gaining depth at wide receiver and on defense. It also means finding another coach. This season was the wake-up call the Cowboys needed and could ultimately help them get back to where they want to be.