Cowboys' McCarthy not worried about job security: 'It's not a story'

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy doesn't have time for questions about his job security at this point of the offseason.

"My viewpoint is it's not a story. It's a media-driven narrative or at least a narrative driven outside my realm," McCarthy said Monday, according to David Moore of The Dallas Morning News.

The 58-year-old added: "It's irritating that the first question you ask me has nothing to do with how I do my job. I show up every day for work to win a championship. How do we win today? That's what I'm asking."

McCarthy's future became a topic of speculation after Dallas suffered a disappointing loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card game. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones fueled speculation after taking 12 days to commit to McCarthy publicly following the defeat.

"That was an answer after an emotional playoff loss," McCarthy said. "Maybe those words did not come out exactly as he wanted. I know that's happened to me in those moments.

"The reality of it is that's not an accurate presentation of who we are as a football team. If you want to talk about how everyone here is working hard to get it right and exemplify what we can become, great. If you want to chase these other narratives for whoever they benefit, I really have no interest."

McCarthy is entering the third season of his five-year contract in Dallas. The Cowboys went 6-10 in his first campaign on the sideline while playing most of the season without quarterback Dak Prescott due to injury. The Cowboys bounced back last year, clinching the NFC East title after winning 12 games during the regular season.

The biggest name linked to the Cowboys this offseason was Sean Payton. Rumors linking Payton to Dallas have circulated for years, but they reignited in 2022 after the former New Orleans Saints head coach retired in January while leaving the door open for an NFL return. He previously served as an assistant for the Cowboys from 2003-05.

Jones, who said earlier this year he never considered moving on from McCarthy, shut down the Payton speculation in June, adding that those rumors were pulled "out of the air."