The Dallas Cowboys are still recovering from their humiliating 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions on October 13, marking the fifth-worst defeat in franchise history. Adding to the sting, the blowout occurred on team owner and general manager Jerry Jones’ 82nd birthday, who was watching from his suite at AT&T Stadium.

Jones recently expressed his frustration, stating that he believes the team is either failing to execute plays properly or is simply designing poor ones, via CBS Sports.

“We’re designing bad plays, or we’re designing bad concepts,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “The facts are that there’s some of that, but there’s also some execution [issues]. There’s some of the talent. I like our talent, I really do like our talent. I like our young talent, but young talent has a few more mistakes associated with it than if you’re dealing with a veteran player.”

And it wasn’t long before head coach Mike McCarthy would respond to his boss, saying that while the team isn’t where it should be with a record of 3-3, he doesn’t believe that the plays and concepts are the wrong ones.

“I talk to Jerry all the time. We’ve had time to go through the self-scout. I didn’t see the comments specifically. But I don’t think we have bad concepts and bad plays. But I’ll go back and check,” McCarthy said. “We’re not where we want to be. That’s clear, and that’s ultimately my responsibility and I’m fully aware of that. We’re very diligent. We’re on top of what we want to do.”

“Just going back to the Detroit game, I know it was the first run of the game,” he continued. “We practiced it a number of times. I got the look we were expecting, and we had the wrong declaration based on communication. So at the end of it, we just got to tighten up our communication and make sure our guys are playing fast.”

The Cowboys are back in action on Sunday, taking on the rival San Francisco 49ers from Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is without a contract for next season 

 Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy looks at his play chart against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Mike McCarthy’s future with the Cowboys remains uncertain, as he currently does not have a contract beyond this season.

This situation isn’t new for the Cowboys, as former head coach Jason Garrett also coached twice in the final year of his contract without an extension. Garrett received a five-year extension in 2014 but was not retained after the 2019 season.

Since taking over the Cowboys, McCarthy has accumulated a regular season record of 45-28, but a 1-3 postseason record.