3x Cowboys Super Bowl champ compares Jerry Jones' negotiation strategy to police interrogation

Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy could be in the final days of their working relationship. Unless a deal is reached in the next few days, McCarthy will be free to do as he pleases. He could jump to another franchise or take another season off. It will be entirely up to him at that point; however, other teams would likely prefer to have him on their team instead.

By waiting as long as he has, Jones has allowed other teams the opportunity to potentially snatch McCarthy. During Friday's edition of "Speak," former Cowboys star Michael Irvin claimed that Jones bluffed, hoping that no one would call to prove to McCarthy isn't worthy of the salary he might be asking.

“Last week he said, anyone wanna talk to him, you can talk to him because I don’t want anybody here if you don’t want to be here," Irvin said. "Jerry was hoping nobody would call. ... He wants to keep it all under his thumb and he got called on it. He has to fess up.

“You can joke and it’s not considered lying in negotiations. It’s just a means to get to an end. Kinda like being in an interrogation room with the police.”

Like a detective in a police interrogation, every word spoken in the confines of the interview has a purpose. There is no idle chit-chat and goodwill gesture to allow McCarthy to entertain other offers.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Chicago Bears reportedly asked for permission to interview the Cowboys coach but Jones denied them. To some, it showed that he did not want to lose McCarthy.

Exploring Jerry Jones' potential expectations for a Mike McCarthy-led Cowboys team in 2025

Mike McCarthy at Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles - Source: Imagn

At this point, Jerry Jones' decision on Mike McCarthy is arriving at a fork in the road. Jones will either have him signed up for another five years or he'll be looking for a new name within the next few days.

Jones has demonstrated that he didn't jump at the chance to renew McCarthy's contract. He didn't jump at the opportunity with CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott, either. However, he had to renew McCarthy's contract all season long, but he didn't. This shows that even if he signs McCarthy to a new deal for multiple years, the seat could be hot heading into next season.

If the Dallas Cowboys perform next season similarly to how they did in 2024, the writing might be on the wall.

He also will be armed with the 12th pick in the 2025 NFL draft, so Jones would likely feel that he is giving the Cowboys coach plenty to work with. This will be on top of Micah Parsons, Prescott and Lamb.

If everyone remains healthy, it will likely be an expectation of a deep playoff run or bust.