The Facts: The first chance Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had to clarify Mike McCarthy’s coaching future in Dallas came Sunday immediately following the first-round playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Emotions were still raw. Jones declined. His second chance came Friday. In a local 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. Friday, Jones told 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM] he has not “completed my overall evaluation” of the season but said there are “moving parts” with the 29-man coaching staff. The continued uncertainty comes as DC Dan Quinn and OC Kellen Moore have fielded head-coach interest elsewhere. According to Morning News staffer Michael Gehlkin, 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. “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 the coach’s 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. The owner did say he's tired of working on problems over the offseason. He wants them fixed in real time. Remember: Penalties were a problem for most of the season. So were the Cowboys’ struggles with the finer details of their offense, including the passing game. We'll be watching to see where all this goes.

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