If Jerry Jones cares about branding and buzz, bringing one of the greatest showmen and talkers in pro sports history to Dallas would check plenty of boxes.

By keeping McCarthy dangling for over a week, the Cowboys are a week behind other teams searching for a coach.

For most of the season, it was assumed that the Cowboys would be looking for a new coach. Late in the year, owner and G.M. Jerry Jones seemed to be warming up to the idea of keeping Mike McCarthy around.