Top stars without a contract, a lame duck as coach? The ambitions of the Dallas Cowboys are high, the omens are difficult.

America’s Team. A name that promises great things. However, the achievements of America’s Team, or rather the Dallas Cowboys, have not been all that great over the past three decades. Yet the expectations are quite different.

Year after year, the franchise from Texas aims high, very high to be precise. The expectations of the fans who make the pilgrimage to the AT&T Stadium game after game are correspondingly high. While the team had great successes to celebrate in earlier times, in recent years it has mainly been disappointments that have paved the way – at least in the decisive games.

The Cowboys have won the Super Bowl five times, but the last time to date dates back to 1995. Since then, they have not even managed to reach the NFC Championship Game.

Last season’s performance was particularly bitter in this context. With twelve wins and only five defeats, they won the NFC East. Disaster then struck in the playoffs

In the Wild Card Round, the Green Bay Packers, who had slipped into the postseason as the seventh team on the last matchday, suffered a defeat. And what a one! In front of their home crowd, the Cowboys trailed 0:27 shortly before half-time and ended up losing 32:48.

They were the only home team to miss out on a place in the Divisional Round

Contract of the head coach expires

The disappointment is now a few months in the past, but it is far from forgotten. Team owner Jerry Jones held a press conference during the training camp.

He was asked by journalists why the contract with head coach Mike McCarthy, which expires after the coming season, was not extended. According to the Dallas Morning News, the billionaire’s answer was brief: “Green Bay”.

While other teams retain their head coaches early, Dallas is letting the contract with its head coach expire for the third time in a row. In 2014, the last year of his contract, then head coach Jason Garrett achieved a regular-season record of 12:4 – and was subsequently given a five-year contract. This in turn expired in 2019 – with eight wins and eight defeats, whereupon Garrett no longer received a new contract.

McCarthy a lame duck?

Mike McCarthy has been at the helm since the 2020 season. After an unfortunate first season, he has managed twelve wins in the regular season in each of the past three years, but has not been successful in the playoffs.

In the US media, the 60-year-old is already being referred to as a “lame duck” coach. A phrase that Jerry Jones took offense to. “I don’t agree with you,” he explained at the press conference. “I understand the term, and I understand how it fits in this case. But I don’t look at it that way.”

Rather, he tried to sing the praises of his head coach. “Mike has shown me that I want him, and he’s qualified and outstanding, and the players are outstanding, and he’s shown me that he could be our coach for years to come,” Jones said.

And further. “He sits next to me at the draft. I call him really often. If you can’t get along with Mike McCarthy, you can’t get along with anybody. “

Jerry Jones praises Bill Belichick

Fringe note: While McCarthy sat next to him at the press conference, Jones also launched into a eulogy for the Patriots’ fired coaching legend Bill Belichick. “I think he’s the best coach, at least in my time in the NFL,” he enthused. “Bill is a friend and a great coach. I like Bill Belichick. He’s a friend,” he clarified.

After Belichick left the Patriots, there were already rumors about a possible engagement in Dallas. The press conference at training camp fueled these even further.

Even before the start of the new season, one thing is clear: if 2024 is not a great success, McCarthy’s job is on the line. He knows this himself – and so does every player in the dressing room

Future of Prescott uncertain

However, the mission of a successful season is likely to be anything but easy. The franchise has hardly been active in free agency and none of the three superstars in the team – Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons – have yet agreed to a contract extension.

Wide receiver Lamb is currently on strike in training camp and quarterback Prescott also made it clear with his recent statements to the press that he is not sure whether he has a future with America’s Team.

“I’ll make it very clear. I want to be here, but if you look at it – all the great quarterbacks I’ve seen have played for other teams. It’s nothing to be afraid of. One day that could become a reality for me. It might not be my decision then,” explained the playmaker.

Three top stars without long-term contracts

The Cowboys are in a tough spot – with only a small amount of cap space. “We have a very unique situation,” said Stephen Jones, Executive Vice President, on “ESPN”.

They have a quarterback who played at the “highest level” last year and finished second in the MVP voting. But he can leave after the coming season.

“And then we have two players who can’t leave … We could sign one of them, and they both believe – rightfully so – that they should be the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. And we totally respect that. So these are very difficult situations that we’re trying to work out with them. They want to win. They want to put a Super Bowl ring on their finger, and they understand the difficult situation we’re in.”

Three top stars without a long-term contract and a lame duck as head coach? The omens in Texas have been better before