Chase Daniel suggests Cowboys, Jerry Jones hesitating on Mike McCarthy to chase Mike Tomlin

With just two days until time runs out on Mike McCarthy‘s contract as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, team owner Jerry Jones has yet to extend a new offer McCarthy’s way.

Is Jones’ delay in making a decision on McCarthy’s future a calculated one? Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel, now host of “The Facility” on FS1, seems to think it could be. Daniel suggested Sunday that Jones could be holding out on re-signing McCarthy based on what the Pittsburgh Steelers do with head coach Mike Tomlin.

I sort of think Jerry Jones has been holding out on signing Mike McCarthy because this could’ve happened.

Will be a fascinating next 72 hours https://t.co/qEj0VzgEMa

— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) January 12, 2025

When it comes to Tomlin, his resume speaks for itself. A Super Bowl title, 12 playoff appearances and no seasons under .500 in 18 years of serving as head coach of the Steelers. But when you look under the hood, you can certainly poke holes through that resume.

Tomlin’s Steelers are 8-11 in the playoffs and 0-5 in the last eight years. Yep, it’s been that long since the Steelers have won a playoff game. Their latest disappointment? A 28-14 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens in Saturday’s AFC Wild Card Round game. Pittsburgh was lifeless in the first half and lacked much “fight” as pointed out by Kirk Herbstreit on the Amazon Prime Video broadcast.

“If I were a Steelers fan, the thing that would concern me just watching this is that you’re in the postseason,” Herbstreit said. “You’re getting dominated. I don’t see any fight. I don’t see any push back. It’s one thing to lose Xs and Os against a really talented offense, but where the hell is the fight? This is the Pittsburgh Steelers. There’s nothing. They’re just going through the motions.”

Does replacing Mike McCarthy with Mike Tomlin make sense for Cowboys?

Not advancing far in the playoffs is the exact reason McCarthy’s place isn’t guaranteed. McCarthy is 49-35 in Dallas with three consecutive 12-5 seasons and two NFC East championships. But McCarthy’s Cowboys only have one postseason win to show for it. Jones did deny a request from the Chicago Bears to interview McCarthy, a clear sign there was interest in giving McCarthy a sixth year. Both sides were in discussions this week but to this point, no agreement.

As for Tomlin, the Cowboys scenario only becomes possible if the Steelers determine they’re ready for a change. But change is something that doesn’t happen often in Pittsburgh. Since Chuck Noll was hired on Jan. 27, 1969, only three men can say they’ve been head coach of the Steelers — Noll, Bill Cowher and Tomlin. Both Noll and Cowher retired from their post in 1991 and 2007, respectively.

Does Saturday’s outcome result in the Rooney family making an unprecedented decision? Will Jones have interest in Tomlin if he becomes available? This week should be telling as teams with head coaching vacancies wrap up the interview process.