Cowboys Today: Have the Cowboys ever seriously considered hiring Bill Belichick?

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is usually available to reporters after the NFL’s annual winter meeting in Irving, Texas. However, Jones was nowhere to be found Wednesday after this year’s meeting.

Stephen Jones, executive vice president of the Cowboys, was in attendance. He answered questions for about 10 minutes, with the most common topic being Mike McCarthy’s future as the Cowboys’ head coach.

“I think he’s done an excellent job,” Stephen Jones said when asked how he rated the work McCarthy did. “Our guys play hard. He makes them compete. It was a tough game the other night. Guys played hard. …guys compete. Hats off to Mike. Sometimes you look around the league and see a lot of teams that start like that and think about next year. But with Mike, everyone was focused on winning every single game.”

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It’s no surprise that Jones didn’t have much to say when asked if they had made a decision about McCarthy’s future. The Cowboys’ front office and top players have recently expressed their support for McCarthy, who is in the final year of his contract.

“We’re talking about the next game,” Jones replied.

Even if the Cowboys were fully prepared to move on, now would not be the time to share this information. Dallas still has four games left. But when the season is disappointing and a coach is in the final year of his contract, reporters ask about the future.

When it was announced that Bill Belichick would be taking over as the University of North Carolina’s head coach, Jones was also asked if there was ever any talk of possibly considering Belichick as the Cowboys’ future head coach.

“Like I said,” Jones replied, “we’re worried about the next game.”

There is a difference when Stephen Jones and Jerry Jones answer questions. It’s much more likely that Stephen will get straight to the point and not leave much room for speculation. Jerry often provides an answer that allows reporters to take things in different directions. This difference became clear on Wednesday.

As for Belichick and the Cowboys, if they ever really wanted him to be their next head coach, they could have hired him last offseason. And if there was serious interest this year, they would certainly have ways to deliver that message to him. But judging by this result, it seems like there isn’t much legitimate NFL interest in Belichick.

In Bill Belichick’s last trip to AT&T Stadium with the Patriots in 2023, the Cowboys won easily, 38-3. (Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images)

Speaking of Belichick

McCarthy seemed a little surprised when he learned of the Belichick news. And understandably so. The transfer portal and NIL have made college coaching less attractive than in previous years, especially when it comes to the 72-year-old head coach who has won the Super Bowl six times.

“Wow, that’s great,” McCarthy said. “This is a beautiful place. No, I’m serious. I think it’s cool, I really do. Coaching is coaching. “I will say one thing: you will be someone to be reckoned with. I have great respect for Bill and the work he has always done. It was always very difficult to compete against him. …Congratulations to him. I’m happy for him.”

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If you were hoping for a more productive offseason from the Cowboys in terms of free agency and potential trades, you’ll be disappointed. The upcoming offseason schedule is very similar to this year’s. There are some moves being made, but likely similar to the one-year deals made this year with veterans like LB Eric Kendricks and RB Ezekiel Elliott. This probably won’t make fans particularly happy, as this topic is being discussed around the same time Forbes releases its latest list of the most valuable sports franchises. The Cowboys remain No. 1 with $10.1 billion.

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“I think we knew we were going to have a challenge this year and next year,” Stephen Jones said Wednesday. “It’s going to be very, very tight because we still have some money left over from some people who aren’t here today. And there will be a few other guys who won’t be here in the future, so you’ll still have their international list.”

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In our latest “One Star Cowboys Podcast” we profile the top coaching candidates for the coming offseason, with Belichick now no longer on the roster. Who would be the top five options for the Cowboys? We also took a look at Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers and wrapped up the show with our final score predictions.

(Photo by Bill Belichick: Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)