Jerry Jones on Tuesday insisted Mike McCarthy’s job security is not dependent on how the Cowboys fare against the Buccaneers on Monday night.
Stephen A. Smith believes there’s no truth to that claim.
The football world for a while now has speculated McCarthy might not have a future in Dallas, mostly because Sean Payton is available to swoop in and take the head coaching job at a moment’s notice. This feeling grew stronger when the Cowboys stumbled in Week 18 against the Sam Howell-led Washington Commanders, a loss that stripped Dallas of any momentum heading into the postseason.
And if the Cowboys falter again at Raymond James Stadium, Smith believes McCarthy will be out of a job in Big D.
“Ladies and gentlemen throughout America, Jerry Jones is lying to you. He’s lying,” Smith said Tuesday on ESPN’s “First Take.” “Mike McCarthy loses this game, Mike McCarthy’s going to get fired. I don’t give a damn what anybody says. We know how I feel about Jerry Jones, but let me be very, very clear. I don’t mean to be offensive — he’s lying. … He watched the Dallas Cowboys go into the nation’s capital against a third-string quarterback and look like that and lose with his starters on the field. Follow up that by showing up to the playoffs and potentially stinking up the joint and getting 45-year-old Tom Brady to knock you out of the postseason after the way Tampa Bay looked this season.
“All of that happens and Mike McCarthy’s keeping his job? This is while Sean Payton is available whether it’s for the Cowboys or the Chargers. This is while Dan Quinn is your defensive coordinator and — oh, by the way — he’s going to get interviewed for jobs including the Denver Broncos job. No way in hell. Jerry Jones is just smart enough to sit up there and not add fuel to the fire at this particular point in time because pressure breaks pipes. He doesn’t need to add more pressure that is already obviously on the Cowboys.”
A loss to the Bucs would signal McCarthy’s third straight season in which he failed to lead the Cowboys past the wild-card round. That surely won’t sit well with Jones, who seems to believe he’s fielding a team that’s capable of winning a Super Bowl right now.
As such, it’s tough to knock Smith for feeling so confident in his read on Jones.
