National Football League

Has Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy's time in Dallas run out?

Updated Jan. 20, 2022 7:31 p.m. ET

Under normal circumstances, a head coach winning 12 games and the division would be enough to ensure job security moving forward.

But nothing is normal when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys, and after a disappointing exit in the wild-card round, head coach Mike McCarthy likely finds himself on the hot seat.

After getting back to the playoffs for the first time since 2018, the Cowboys were upset on Super Wild Card Weekend by the San Francisco 49ers, raising questions about McCarthy's future with the franchise.

On Thursday's episode of "Undisputed," Skip Bayless explained why he doesn't believe McCarthy should be brought back. He lamented how the Cowboys beat up on a soft schedule early in the season before stumbling into the playoffs and swiftly being eliminated.

"The evidence screams fire him, fire him and fire him again," Bayless said. "I look at what happened this year: They jump out to a 6-1 record … then what happened down the stretch? They closed 6-5."

Skip Bayless on Mike McCarthy: 'The evidence screams fire him'

Skip Bayless discusses whether the Dallas Cowboys should bring back head coach Mike McCarthy for a third season.

But even with the sour taste left in the mouth of Cowboys fans after the early playoff exit, McCarthy has the résumé of a coach who has proven he can win at the highest level.

He is 10-9 for his career in the playoffs, including a Super Bowl victory with the Green Bay Packers, and he has won seven division titles.

But Colin Cowherd believes McCarthy's success has been the product of advantageous situations with the Packers and Cowboys, rather than his being an elite head coach.

"McCarthy has had two great jobs in two dysfunctional divisions," Cowherd said Thursday on "The Herd." "He inherited [Brett] Favre and then in a very stable organization and in a terrible division. He won that a few times, and then he won a Super Bowl. And then he goes to Dallas, and it's a terrible, terrible division. It's a very nice roster. There's a lot of playmakers here."

Colin Cowherd isn't sure Mike McCarthy deserves another year

While Dallas seems to be sticking with McCarthy, Colin Cowherd isn't sold on him, arguing that the Cowboys are getting the same McCarthy that Aaron Rodgers had to carry in Green Bay.

Whether McCarthy deserves to be back will be hotly debated through the offseason, until the Cowboys make a final decision on his future.

One thing is certain, though: The mercurial head coach will have his work cut out for him to rehabilitate his reputation.

Whether that happens in Dallas remains to be seen.