Mike McCarthy says owner Jerry Jones wants him to coach as long as this legendary Cowboys coach

Conversations continue to swirl around Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy’s job security. 

The noise only seemed to increase after the Cowboys were eliminated from the playoffs by the San Francisco 49ers for a second straight year.

The possibility of Jerry Jones hiring Sean Payton or another experienced coach still seems to loom over the franchise, but McCarthy said the Cowboys owner wants him to stick around for much longer.

Following his third season and back-to-back 12-5 campaigns, McCarthy said that Jones told him his tenure could last as long as former longtime Cowboys coach Tom Landry’s. 

“As far as my relationship with Jerry . . . we are in an excellent spot. The partnership that we have, he’s excited about,” McCarthy said Thursday, via USA Today. “He told me a number of times this week that he wants me to coach here as long as coach (Tom) Landry did. I said, ‘OK, that’s a long time.’ I feel really good about our relationship. I think our ability to discuss and disagree, we do a good job at that. I think that’s important.”

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Landry was the Cowboys head coach for 29 straight seasons.

This isn’t the first time Jones is believed to have used the Landry comparison with one of his coaches. 

During the 2019 NFL offseason, Jones compared Jason Garrett’s head coaching tenure to Landry’s. Garrett was fired after the 2019 season, but he does hold the distinction of being the second-longest tenured coach in franchise history.

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Jones also ended Landry’s 29-year run in Dallas by firing the coach in 1988 shortly after he purchased the Cowboys. Jones then hired Jimmy Johnson, who went on to two Super Bowls at the helm.

McCarthy has quite a long way to go if he wants to match Landry’s run.

Jones has hired eight head coaches since he has owned the franchise, but only two of those coaches had remained in the positions for longer than four seasons — Jimmy Johnson and Jason Garrett.

While McCarthy’s job seems safe for 2023, he did announce the shake up of the coaching staff.

McCarthy confirmed that assistant head coach Rob Davis, senior defensive assistant George Edwards, offensive line coach Joe Philbin, running backs coach Skip Peete, assistant defensive line coach Leon Lett and quality control coach Kyle Valero won’t be returning next season. 

However, the fate of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore remains unresolved.