Cooper Rush discusses if Cowboys are playing for Mike McCarthy's job

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy remains in the final season of his contract as backup quarterback Cooper Rush, playing in place of the injured Dak Prescott, has helped the club go from 3-7 to 6-8. 

Following Dallas' 30-14 win at the lowly Carolina Panthers (3-11) on Sunday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated asked Rush if he and others in the locker room are playing for McCarthy to receive either an extension or a new deal. 

"It’s just more who he is — it’s just been the attitude the last couple of years," Rush said about McCarthy. "He does a great job having a pulse of the team, keeping guys together, keeping us together in the locker room and creating that culture that no matter who we’re playing, what we’re doing. If you’re out there, you’re competing your butt off. He has us well prepared." 

Some wondered after the Cowboys lost seven of their first 10 games amid an injury crisis this season if team owner and general manager Jerry Jones could part ways with McCarthy before Week 18. However, it was reported last week shortly after Bill Belichick agreed to become the new head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels that there was a "feeling around the league" that Jones will look to bring McCarthy back for at least the 2025 campaign. 

McCarthy has guided the Cowboys to just one playoff win over five seasons, and the NFL's website showed on Monday that Dallas has less than a 1% chance to qualify for the upcoming postseason tournament. With that said, Jones must be at least a little impressed that his players are still competing for McCarthy late into what many assumed was a lost campaign for the organization before Thanksgiving. 

"It’s just who we are, a bunch of guys that love to compete, a lot of winners on this team, a lot of wins over the last few years with coach McCarthy and these core players," Rush told Breer. "There’s a culture there — you’re going to go out there and play your butt off and compete no matter what."

As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Cowboys as four-point underdogs for this coming Sunday's prime-time home game versus the 8-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It will be interesting to see how McCarthy's players approach that matchup depending on what occurs earlier in the day.