NFL Rumors: Rival Exec Believes Cowboys Could Pursue Belichick to Replace McCarthy

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An anonymous NFL executive believes that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will attempt to bring in Bill Belichick as the team’s next head coach following another disappointing postseason exit under Mike McCarthy, according to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz.

“One rival executive told me this week that if the Cowboys lost to the Packers, he thought Jerry Jones would go after Bill Belichick to replace Mike McCarthy,” Schultz reported.

Although McCarthy hasn’t been fired just yet, the writing appears to be on the wall after Jones told reporters that “we’ll see how each game goes” in the playoffs before making a decision regarding his future in Dallas, via Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Belichick and Jones have an existing relationship that could make the legendary New England Patriots head coach a top candidate if a vacancy appears.

“The relationship between Jerry Jones and Bill Belichick is a really good one,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport revealed in a Jan. 11 appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.

The 71-year-old is one of the most accomplished head coaches of all time, earning six Super Bowl victories and three Coach of the Year awards in his 24 seasons with the Patriots. Belichick ended his career in New England with a 266-121 record in the regular season to go along with 30 wins compared to just 12 losses in the playoffs.

He’s publicly expressed his admiration for Jones in the past, complimenting the Cowboys’ longtime owner as well as director of player personnel Stephen Jones prior to a Week 4 matchup between the two teams.

“I have a ton of respect for Jerry and Stephen, and the way they run the organization down there,” said Belichick, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “They’ve had decades of success. They were really the team of the ’90s with Jimmy [Johnson] and they’ve been good. They’ve been competitive every year, obviously more than competitive.”

The Cowboys’ roster could entice the defensive-minded coach to join the reigning NFC East champions, as Dallas owned the No. 5 scoring defense in the NFL throughout the regular season.