Stephen Jones says Mike McCarthy has done an ‘outstanding’ job

IRVING, Texas — Mike McCarthy’s ability to keep the injury-depleted Dallas Cowboys competitive could factor into whether the team gives him a contract extension.

“I think he’s done outstanding,” executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said Wednesday after the NFL’s winter meetings. “I mean, our guys are playing hard and he’s got them competing. That was a tough game the other night, but guys played hard.”

McCarthy, who is in the final year of his contract, led Dallas (5-8) to three straight 12-win seasons, including a pair of NFC East titles, before things unraveled this season.

The Cowboys were 3-5 when Dak Prescott went down for the season. Several defensive players, including star edge rusher Micah Parsons, also have missed multiple games.

“When you’re owning/managing a football team, you look at everything. It would be irresponsible not to,” Jones said about considering the team’s injuries in an evaluation of McCarthy’s job performance. “I know our fans and opponents don’t look at everything but we do.”

Parsons’ return sparked two straight wins, but Dallas lost 27-20 at home to Cincinnati on Monday night after a critical blunder on special teams following a blocked punt.

Overall, the Cowboys have been on the wrong side of four lopsided losses and have lost four one-score games.

“Hats off to Mike,” Jones said. “When you look around the league, sometimes you see a lot of teams that start like that and they’re thinking about next year. And Mike’s got everybody focused on winning each and every game.”

The Cowboys haven’t had playoff success under McCarthy, going 1-3. They were blown out by Green Bay in the wild-card round of the playoffs last season, but owner Jerry Jones made few changes to the roster.

Asked if a decision on McCarthy’s future has been made, Stephen Jones said: “We’re talking about the next game.”

Asked if Bill Belichick was ever a consideration, Jones responded: “We’re worried about the next game.”