McCarthy’s five-year contract with the club ended in the wake of the team’s 23-19 loss to Washington to end the regular season. But the veteran coach’s contract contains an exclusive negotiating window with the Cowboys that doesn’t expire until Tuesday.

The sands are slipping through the hourglass for head coach Mike McCarthy, as his contract with the Dallas Cowboys expires in a mere five days. Dallas, after a 7-10 stumble in 2024, are now locked in a tense standoff with their head coach and his future,

McCarthy guided the Cowboys to just one playoff win over five campaigns, but his teams went 12-5 each season from 2021-23 before a noteworthy injury crisis impacted the club this past fall.