Cowboys’ Jerry Jones – ‘No doubt’ I could work with Bill Belichick،
It looks like Bill Belichick won't be an NFL head coach next season. But if the Dallas Cowboys decide to move on from Mike McCarthy after next season, could Jerry Jones' team be an option for the future Hall of Fame coach?
Speaking to Yahoo Sports at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, the Cowboys owner and general manager said there was “no doubt” he could work with the former New England Patriots coach, whom he considers a “friend”.
“I know him personally and I like him,” Jones told Yahoo. “There is no doubt in my mind that we could work together. None.”
Belichick, who parted ways with the Patriots after 24 seasons and six Super Bowl titles, had just two interviews during this year's cycle — both with the Atlanta Falcons, who decided to hire Raheem Morris for the position instead.
Four other head coaching positions have been filled with only two vacancies currently — with the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks — and neither team appears to be linked to the 71-year-old Belichick.
The Cowboys announced earlier this month that McCarthy would return after the team fell short in a 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round. McCarthy is 42-25 with NFC East titles in 2021 and 2023, winning 12 in three of his four seasons, but is 1-3 in the playoffs. He signed a five-year contract with the Cowboys in 2020, so he will enter the final year of that deal next season.
Jones praised McCarthy Tuesday when he met with reporters at the Senior Bowl and said the Cowboys would be “all-in” for the 2024 season.
“…I thought we made a good choice four years ago when we hired Mike McCarthy, and he had great success during the season. Now he failed three times and moved us forward in playoffs. But I like that fact. is that he hangs around the rim, and I like what the team did to hang around the rim,” he said. “So I think the answer I would have is I'm aware that we're hanging around the rim. We're not bringing the ball in, but when you're hanging around the rim, let's not put that off that hanging around the edge – where we are right now with the players we have, and I think about it through the whole look.”
Belichick left New England with 333 career wins (including playoffs), second all-time behind Don Shula's 347. Belichick has expressed his admiration for Jones and the Cowboys organization in the past.
Jones, 81, told Yahoo on Tuesday that Belichick was “maybe at the top of his profession” but called it “ridiculous” that “one person automatically guarantees you a Super Bowl.”
“It’s too high [an] waiting for him. But is he perhaps the greatest professional football coach of all time? It very well could be,” he said. “He's a friend and I like him, and I want to be very clear: I would have no problem working with him.”
The Cowboys have won three Super Bowl titles under Jones' ownership, but have not advanced to the NFC Championship Game since 1995, the second-longest drought in the conference behind Washington (1991).
