Will the Cowboys fire Mike McCarthy? Jerry Jones criticizes ‘hypothetical’ after brutal defeat

Jerry Jones turned 82 on Sunday. The Dallas Cowboys handed him their worst home loss since 1988 to commemorate the occasion.

The Detroit Lions manhandled the Cowboys in a 47-9 romp at AT&T Stadium. The victory was a measure of revenge for Detroit, which suffered a one-point loss to Dallas at the end of the 2023 NFL season, which cost the Lions their chance at the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

The Lions seemed to toy with the Cowboys throughout the contest. Detroit coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson ran several trick plays, including one that resulted in a 52-yard touchdown to tight end Sam LaPorta. The Lions often had defensive lineman Dan Skipper running routes near the end of the 38-point victory — a nod to offensive tackle Taylor Decker’s disallowed two-point conversion in their battle last season.

The nature of the loss, which left the Cowboys at 3-3 on the season, raised all-too-familiar questions about coach Mike McCarthy’s job security.

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones responded to those questions, but didn’t take kindly to the line of questioning.

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Will the Cowboys fire Mike McCarthy?

Jones was asked directly if the Cowboys would consider making a coaching change during the season following their 38-point loss to the Lions.

“Oh, I didn’t even consider that,” an irritated Jones told reporters. “I’m not considering it. Just so you’re clear, I’m not considering it.”

During the trade, Jones was reminded that he once made a coaching change during the season. In 2010, he fired Wade Phillips after a 1–7 start to the 2010 season, before naming Jason Garrett as interim head coach.

The 82-year-old criticized the issue and suggested that Sunday afternoon was not the time to discuss such matters.

“That would be a hypothesis. On that matter, you think I’m an idiot? Don’t you?” Jones fumed. “Okay. Well, I’m not going to hypothesize with you about whether I would consider a coaching change in light of where we are here. I’m not. Not at all.”

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Jones will have plenty of time to reconsider his decision. The Cowboys will be off in Week 7 before returning in Week 8 for an early matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.

Dallas could be in third place in the NFC East before that game, depending on what happens with the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles in their Week 7 matchups with the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants.

Either way, Jones isn’t happy with the Cowboys’ 3-3 record and current tie for second place in the NFC East standings. Still, he doesn’t entirely blame McCarthy for these issues.

“We’re disappointed to be 3-3,” Jones said, per ESPN. “I don’t necessarily blame McCarthy for the three-loss side. The players will say they had something to do with it too. you, he had something to do with it, so it’s not all his fault.

So, barring a change of heart from Jones, McCarthy appears to remain Dallas’ head coach.

Mike McCarthy Training History

McCarthy entered the 2024 NFL season with a 167-102-2 record as an NFL head coach. That included a 125-77-2 mark with the Packers and a 42-25 record with the Cowboys.

McCarthy has had just four losing seasons compared to 11 with double-digit wins during his 17 full seasons in the NFL. The 2024 season marks his 18th as a head coach at the NFL level, dating back to 2006.

Below is a look at McCarthy’s yearly records at the helm of the Cowboys, as well as the team’s results in the NFC East race:

Although McCarthy did well in the regular season, he has an 11-11 record in the postseason. That includes a 1-3 mark with the Cowboys and 6-9 mark since he won his only Super Bowl with the Packers during the 2011 playoffs.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Mike McCarthy be fired? Jerry Jones criticizes question after defeat