Stephen Jones praises Mike McCarthy for doing an “outstanding” job despite the Cowboys’ injury struggles.

Stephen Jones praises Mike McCarthy for doing an “outstanding” job despite the Cowboys’ injury struggles.

Mike McCarthy’s ability to keep the Dallas Cowboys competitive despite injuries could influence whether the team offers him a contract extension.

“I think he’s done outstanding,” executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said on Wednesday after the NFL’s winter meetings. “I mean, our guys are playing hard and he’s got them competing. That was a tough game the other night, but guys played hard.”

McCarthy, who is in the final year of his contract, helped lead the Cowboys (5-8) to three consecutive 12-win seasons, including two NFC East titles, before things started to go wrong this year.

The Cowboys were 3-5 when Dak Prescott was injured and out for the season. Many defensive players, including star edge rusher Micah Parsons, have also missed multiple games.

“When you’re owning/managing a football team, you look at everything. It would be irresponsible not to,” Jones said about considering the team’s injuries when evaluating McCarthy’s performance. “I know our fans and opponents don’t look at everything, but we do.”

Parsons’ return helped the team win two straight games, but Dallas lost 27-20 at home to Cincinnati on Monday night due to a critical mistake on special teams after a blocked punt.

Mike McCarthy walks off the field after the game
The Cowboys have had four heavy losses and have lost four games by just one score.

“Hats off to Mike,” Jones said. “When you look around the league, sometimes you see a lot of teams that start like that and they’re thinking about next year. And Mike’s got everybody focused on winning each and every game.”

Under McCarthy, the Cowboys haven’t had playoff success, going 1-3. They were beaten badly by Green Bay in the wild-card round of last season’s playoffs, but owner Jerry Jones made few changes to the roster.

When asked if a decision about McCarthy’s future had been made, Stephen Jones said: “We’re talking about the next game.”

When asked if Bill Belichick was ever considered, Jones replied: “We’re worried about the next game.”