One longtime Dallas Cowboys insider had a unique theory no why Jerry Jones may be delaying the decision on Mike McCarthy's future.

The five-year contract McCarthy signed in January 2020 runs out Jan. 14. He made it clear Sunday he wants to remain in Dallas.

The entirety of the Cuban Missile Crisis — from the discovery of Russian missiles in Cuba to Kennedy’s reaction to Khrushchev’s response (which led the world to the brink of nuclear disaster) to the final peace-saving arrangement made by the two leaders — took 13 days.

A deflected punt was about to set the Cowboys up in Cincinnati territory with less than two minutes to play and a chance to win. Instead, Amani Oruwariye mistakenly attempted to field the punt and muffed it back to the Bengals, who went on to score the game-winning touchdown.

Mike McCarthy has not secured his spot as the Dallas Cowboys' head coach in 2025, but the job is not yet vacant. McCarthy's contract with the Cowboys expires Tuesday (Jan. 14) but the franchise maintains an exclusive negotiating window and owner Jerry Jones plans to open contract talks Friday with designs on retaining the coach,

This is what Cowboys purgatory looks like. Mike McCarthy’s job with the team is very much undecided with his contract expiring in less than a week. But as ESPN reported Thursday, the “future” was on the table during a recent discussion between the Super Bowl-winning coach and team owner Jerry Jones.