Cowboys' Mike McCarthy responds to curious Dak Prescott comments

While publicly campaigning for Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones to retain head coach Mike McCarthy for at least one more season, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott recently said he hopes McCarthy gets "another contract and a chance to coach this team amongst more influence" and "on his terms." 

McCarthy was later asked if he feels he's been able to coach "on his terms" during his Dallas tenure that began in 2020. 

"Yes, definitely," McCarthy responded, The Athletic's Saad Yousuf shared. "I think it’s like any job, and this one specifically, I have a clear understanding of the responsibility. This is the most input I’ve ever been a part of as a head coach in personnel, particularly in the draft. We spend a tremendous amount of time as a coaching staff during the draft — the draft selection, preparation process." 

Jones received plenty of criticism from Dallas fans and other outsiders for the state of the team's roster before an injury crisis that included Prescott going down with a campaign-ending torn hamstring impacted the club and before the Cowboys fell to 3-7. While McCarthy subsequently guided Dallas to two-straight wins to keep the team's playoff hopes alive, he remains in the final season of his contract amid rumors suggesting Jones wants living legend Bill Belichick to be the team's next coach. 

For what it's worth, numerous reporters and analysts have said over the past year that a Belichick-Jones marriage would never happen largely because Jones wouldn't let even the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach have the final say over certain personnel decisions. 

"I’m not sure exactly what he meant by it, but it’s just like anything," McCarthy added about Prescott's comments. "We’re in year five of a program. I think we have a lot of excellent things in place. I think we have some things that we can do better, and I think it’s all part of growing."

Many, if not most, observers assume McCarthy won't continue growing with the Cowboys program beyond Week 18 unless he leads the team on what would be a remarkable run to a playoff berth. As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the 5-7 Cowboys as 5.5-point underdogs for the upcoming "Monday Night Football" home game versus the 4-8 Cincinnati Bengals.