Jerry Jones piles more pressure on Mike McCarthy with latest comments

If Jerry Jones wants to make Mike McCarthy squirm about his job security, the Dallas Cowboys owner appears to be doing a fine job of it.

Jones spoke to the media on Wednesday during Senior Bowl practices and offered another intriguing quote about his team’s coaching situation. Jones showered defensive coordinator Dan Quinn with praise, going as far as to say that Quinn had what it takes to be the team’s head coach.

“He’s certainly qualified,” Jones said of Quinn, via Jori Epstein of USA Today. “He’s very qualified. Yes, I would consider. If I didn’t have a coach, I would have been interviewing him for coach.”

Jones did add that keeping both Quinn and McCarthy was always his plan, and that “nobody worked harder” than McCarthy to keep Quinn in the fold.

None of this will slow down rumors about McCarthy’s job security. Jones was not happy with the Cowboys’ quick playoff exit, and has certainly made it sound like he’d upgrade on McCarthy if he had the chance to do so. Quinn surprisingly pulled his name from head coach consideration elsewhere, which made the situation feel to some like Quinn was essentially staying put to be the coach-in-waiting in Dallas. Whether that’s true or not, these comments from Jones will only further that belief.