Another Dallas Cowboys season has come and gone.
After a 12-5 turnaround in 2021 and a disappointing wild-card round exit at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers, where do Jerry Jones and the Cowboys go from here?
Here’s everything you need to know about this Cowboys offseason:
Latest news
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— Madden 23 ratings: See where CeeDee Lamb, DeMarcus Lawrence, other Cowboys rank
Key offseason dates
Organized team activities: May 24-25, June 1-2, June 6-7, June 9-10
June 14-16: Mandatory minicamp
July 25: Tentative training camp arrival date
2022 NFL draft picks
For complete NFL draft coverage, click here.
Round 1: No. 24 — Tulsa OL Tyler Smith
Round 2: No. 56 — Ole Miss DE Sam Williams
Round 3: No. 88 — South Alabama WR Jalen Tolbert
Round 4: No. 129 — Wisconsin TE Jake Ferguson
Round 5: No. 155 — North Dakota OT Matt Waletzko, No. 167 — Fresno State CB DaRon Bland, No. 176 (comp) — LSU LB Damone Clark, No. 178 (comp) — Arkansas DT John Ridgeway
Round 6: No. 193 — Oklahoma State LB Devin Harper
Round 7: No picks
Free agency updates
The Cowboys have 24 free agents, 21 of them unrestricted, heading into the offseason. Keep track of where all of them are headed here.
‘Unusual’ narratives around Mike McCarthy
Immediately after the Cowboys’ season ended in a wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers, owner Jerry Jones was noncommital about Mike McCarthy’s future in Dallas.
After that, Jones crafted some unusual narratives about his head coach throughout the offseason. Here’s a timeline on his comments about McCarthy this offseason.
— Jan. 16, 2022: In an interview immediately after the Cowboys’ playoff loss to the 49ers, Jones was asked about coaching. His response: “I don’t even want to discuss anything like that at this particular time,” Jones said. “No discussion. ... I’m not going to discuss coaching, the preparation, any of those things. That’s not on the table. The game speaks for itself.”
— Jan. 21, 2022: In a radio interview, Jones gave the topic the fourth-and-20 treatment, punting on the opportunity to say whether McCarthy will be the Cowboys’ coach in 2022. The continued uncertainty comes as defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore had fielded head-coach interest elsewhere.
Quinn, not Moore, likely would be promoted as McCarthy’s replacement if the Cowboys fired McCarthy.
The notion Jones could make such a dramatic maneuver persists only because of the vagueness in which McCarthy’s future has been publicly described. Jones told 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM) he has not “completed my overall evaluation” of the season and has “no idea” when he will, adding there are “moving parts” with the coaching staff.
“I won’t be getting into any statements about evaluations or statements about actions relative to those evaluations,” Jones said. “I won’t be getting into that for probably several weeks.”
As a follow-up, Jones was asked about any specific conversations he’s had with McCarthy about his potential return as head coach.
“I’m not going to get into any conversations that I’ve had with anybody, relative to do with anything with the staff,” Jones said. “I understand the interest in it, but there is nothing compelling me. I’ve got everyone under contract that I want to have under contract, so that’s where we are. At the extent that some of these other clubs, under our rules, have a right to talk to somebody, do I even have to address that? You spend a lot of time.
“Now, let me be real clear: One of the pet peeves I have is that I don’t like this, ‘Well, we’ve got to work on this in the offseason; we’ve got to work on this.’ I don’t go for that. I’ve been trying to push that. I want those things recognized and addressed after we play Tampa, after the first game, or after we play the sixth game. I don’t want to wait until we’re sitting here with no season left to address these things we’re doing or not doing. And so, all of that is in the mix here and a part of what I do.”
— Jan. 28, 2022: Jones clarified that McCarthy’s job was never in question, saying his reluctance to declare the head coach would return was a strategic decision as he and McCarthy worked in concert to ensure Dan Quinn’s return as defensive coordinator.
Jones said the conclusion some drew that he was leaving his head coach to twist in the wind was wrong.
“That is totally incorrect,” Jones said. “Totally incorrect. We were working very closely together to get Dan to stay here and keep the continuity of our staff... Whether we were right or wrong, we made the decision to keep it quiet. Mike’s status was never in question.
“Ever.”
— Feb. 2, 2022: Jones’ latest comments about Quinn at the Senior Bowl again raised questions about McCarthy’s long-term future in Dallas.
“I’ve now had three times, quite similar circumstances, when [a coach] did stay here,” Jones told USA Today at the Senior Bowl. “He stays here because there always has been, with every coach, every one of those three coaches, has said they’d love to be the head coach of the Cowboys. Every one. Every one ... That has, in my mind, a lot of logic as to why they might not take a job now, [to] wait and see how the cards go in the future.
“Mike knows that someday, somebody other than him will be coach of the Cowboys.”
— Feb. 15, 2022: So how does the Cowboys’ current head coach feel about Jones’ comments?
During an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, McCarthy acknowledged the narratives surrounding his job status are “unusual.”
His boss openly suggested one of his coordinators was head coaching material for the @dallascowboys and then there’s all the Sean Payton rumors.
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) February 15, 2022
How does all this sit with Mike McCarthy and has he talked with Jerry Jones about it??@richeisen asked him point blank today: pic.twitter.com/EGTGcZVNhE
“I never once felt that I was not going to be the head coach moving forward and, frankly, I’ve been at this long enough that’s all I’m focused on,” McCarthy said. “I’m the leader of this football team and I’m about winning and that’s all I’ve ever focused on and that’s all I ever will focus on.
“Are these narratives unusual? Absolutely. I’ve never dealt with anything like this. Do I wish I didn’t have to come on here and answer questions about it? Yeah, no doubt about it. I wish we were talking about something else, but it’s part of our landscape.”
Cowboys’ offseason questions
Cowboys felt ‘big-boyed’ in playoffs. Can 2022 NFL draft class help them redeem themselves?
Deep into the fifth round, as the Cowboys were discussing who to select, owner Jerry Jones brought up one of his pet peeves.
He hates to see his team get big-boyed. The Dallas owner was stressing the need to add bulk in the trenches.
Mike McCarthy nodded in agreement and uttered a phrase he had used repeatedly since the draft got underway Thursday evening.
“Playoffs,’’ the Cowboys head coach said. “Playoffs.
“Remember the playoffs.’’
The playoffs are nine months away. What the Cowboys did — or didn’t — do in this draft will play a major role in determining whether or not Dallas returns.
Click here to continue reading.
How can the Cowboys reverse the decline of their offseason line?
It started when right guard Zack Martin couldn’t taste his dinner six days before the Sept. 9 season opener. He awoke the next morning to phone alerts from Cowboys head athletic trainer Jim Maurer, notifying him he tested positive for COVID-19.
It continued when right tackle La’el Collins lost a feud with the NFL over missed drug tests and an accusation he offered a specimen collector $10,000 to avoid scheduled testing. On Sept. 10, the league announced his five-game suspension.
No Week 1 for Martin. No Weeks 2 to 6 for Collins.
The carousel ride had begun.
All spring and summer, the Cowboys envisioned starting a certain combination on their offensive line. That group made one start all regular season, and not until Week 17. The combo was then badly outclassed during a first-round playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, proving a far cry from dominant Dallas lines of years past.
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Can the Cowboys find the right balance between running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard?
Mistakes happen.
On Jan. 2, the Cowboys admittedly made one with Tony Pollard.
The third-year running back saw just six touches during a Week 17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, including two in the final three quarters. Pollard was far and away the team’s most explosive option in the backfield. Still, in a critical game for playoff seeding, coaches got away from him.
“Obviously, we’ve got to get him in there more,” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said on Jan. 6. “That’s certainly fair, and that’s all of us looking at it in reflection. ... We want to get Tony on the field more. We’ve got to get him more involved. That game turned into one that we didn’t do a good enough job of getting him in there.”
The Cowboys then repeated their mistake.
Pollard received six touches in his next game, too, this time a Jan. 16 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. How best to balance Ezekiel Elliott and Pollard is something on which the team has struggled to get a handle. A plan must be identified this offseason as part of a larger team study on how to improve the run game and backfield usage.
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The Cowboys are deep at wide receiver. Can they keep both Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup?
Amari Cooper went into the season telling reporters he considered himself the NFL’s best receiver.
Had he proven it? No. He conceded there’s a difference in holding that belief and confirming it on the field.
Cooper then went out and had the least productive season of his Cowboys career, leaving him and the club at a contractual crossroad.
What to do with the veteran receiver is the biggest offensive question the Cowboys face in the coming seven weeks. Club officials must determine if the salary cap room his release would create is more valuable than what his presence provides to this offense going forward.
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The Cowboys paid tight end Blake Jarwin. Can they also afford Dalton Schultz?
Dalton Schultz is coming off his best season. His career is on the rise.
That doesn’t mean it will continue here.
Schultz is among the 21 players on the Dallas Cowboys roster set to enter the free agent market. Difficult decisions lie ahead with a payroll that already swells anywhere from $17 million to $24 million over next season’s projected cap.
“We’re not going to be able to keep everybody,’’ executive vice president Stephen Jones said.
It will be tough to keep Schultz. Do the Cowboys want to retain their second leading receiver? Sure.
But the 25-year-old likely played his way out of the club’s price range.
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Putting a bow on the 2021 season
The Cowboys’ playoff loss to the 49ers left many questions about this team going forward. Our writers and contributors look back at this season and what it means for the team’s future.
— America’s Team? In truth, the Dallas Cowboys have become NFL’s mockery
— After playoff disaster, Dallas Cowboys need to fire Mike McCarthy, promote Dan Quinn to head coach
— Cowboys’ failure to execute offensively ended their season — not Dak Prescott’s umpire collision
— What went wrong in Dallas? Jerry Jones, Cowboys must figure it out or more disappointment is coming
— Welcome to Groundhog Day: Dallas Cowboys keep waking to an ‘extraordinarily’ disappointing reality
— To take the next step, Cowboys must focus on discipline, limiting penalties next season
— Film room: 3 things that went wrong in Cowboys’ playoff loss, including lost battles in the trenches
— Mike McCarthy says decision to run QB draw on final play of Cowboys-49ers was ‘right call’
— Troy Aikman rips Cowboys’ usage of CeeDee Lamb vs. 49ers: ‘The game is not that difficult’
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