Coming into the 2024 campaign, the Cowboys made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. Through Week 11 with just a 3-7 record, though, it looks like that postseason streak will soon be coming to an end.
Dallas fell 34-10 to the Texans in front of a home crowd Monday night, pushing the Cowboys' losing streak to five games. In those contests, they've been outscored 172-70. And to only make matters worse, star quarterback Dak Prescott will officially miss the rest of the season after being placed on IR with a hamstring injury.
Things aren't going very well for the Cowboys, who naturally have high expectations on an annual basis under Jerry Jones' ownership. After Monday's loss to Houston, Jones commented on the state of his team's season.
Here's what Jones had to say about the Cowboys' 3-7 record so far in 2024, as well as what he said regarding the current job security of Dallas' head coach, Mike McCarthy.
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Following Monday's game, Jones put the Cowboys' current season into the context of his long tenure as the team's owner and general manager. During his first year on duty after buying the franchise in 1989, Dallas went just 1-15.
"We won one game my first year," Jones said, per ESPN. "One. And so have we had rough seasons? Yes. Yeah, I've been around. Certainly we have. And we've had other tough years."
However, with the Cowboys winning 12 games in each of the last three seasons, expectations were higher for 2024. With both Prescott and star receiver CeeDee Lamb on new contracts and a talented defense led by Micah Parsons, Dallas was a Super Bowl hopeful once again heading into Week 1.
Instead, the team has just three wins going into Week 12, with Prescott now done for the year.
"We didn't anticipate the record. And the way we're playing right now, we wouldn't have anticipated that," Jones said. "You stay in this league long enough, you'll have times like this."
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While a 3-7 record in Dallas is certainly enough to bring up hot seat talks, Jones hasn't shown any indications of the Cowboys firing McCarthy during the season.
"I have made a change early on a coach with Chan Gailey, and I've always regretted that, and I've made a change during the season [with Wade Phillips] and regretted that, and that's the music I'm listening to," Jones said, per NBC Sports.
The Cowboys owner was referring to a pair of past coaching decisions he made: One, to fire Gailey after the 1999 season in which Dallas went 8-8 but made the playoffs, and two, to fire Phillips after a 1-7 start in 2010. Jones is clearly reluctant to make a coaching change in the middle of the season, but either way, McCarthy's contract is up after 2024.
Jones said the Cowboys' players still believe in McCarthy despite the recent losing streak.
"That losing the team stuff, that's so overblown," Jones said. "These guys are so, first of all, they're natural competitors. Secondly, they're so proud of the fact that they are professional and disappointed in maybe the way they executed the play, but that's not anything that's brother or first cousin to give up."
While there could be a new head coach in Dallas for the 2025 season, the Cowboys don't appear set to part ways with McCarthy over the final stretch of 2024.