Jerry Jones listens to Tom Brady and makes his Mike McCarthy decision: is it the right one?

Despite significant speculation in recent days, the Dallas Cowboys are not making a coaching change. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday night that owner Jerry Jones will retain Mike McCarthy for the 2024 NFL season -- even after the Cowboys were shockingly eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday.

Had the Dallas job opened up, it would have instantly become the highest-profile coaching vacancy in the NFL -- potentially attracting someone like Bill Belichick. Instead, owner Jerry Jones has decided to retain McCarthy, who has enjoyed regular-season success with the Cowboys but has not been able to win that elusive Super Bowl.

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Why is Dallas keeping McCarthy?

McCarthy has one year remaining on his contract with the Cowboys, and he had received the backing of quarterback Dak Prescott to stay on. Over the past three seasons, Dallas has been among the best regular-season teams in the NFL, winning 12 games each season and claiming the NFC East title twice.

The 2023 Cowboys had the NFL's #1 scoring offense and its #5 scoring defense -- despite losing star cornerback Trevon Diggs to a knee injury less than three weeks into the season. Prescott led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes, while receiver CeeDee Lamb was named a first-team All-Pro after setting career highs with 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Dallas entered the playoffs as a Super Bowl candidate, but everything unraveled in its opening game against the Green Bay Packers -- a 48-32 loss at AT&T Stadium that brought the Cowboys' season to a crashing halt. Even still, the Cowboys have a core of players in their prime with star talent as headliners, something that Jones clearly considered when deciding whether to hang on to McCarthy.

Tom Brady was not in favor of firing McCarthy

The NFL's greatest quarterback was firmly pro-McCarthy and hoped the Cowboys would keep the former Super Bowl winner. On the most recent episode of his "Let's Go!" podcast, Tom Brady backed McCarthy to stay, even after Dallas was picked apart in Saturday's loss to Green Bay.

"You can't blame a loss on one coach like yesterday," Brady said. "There was a team giving out 45 points and quarterbacks throwing interceptions for touchdowns. Yeah, everybody's responsible. That's the point. We're all in it together, man. And when we win, it's amazing. And when we lose, we're all in it together."

McCarthy now gets a chance to prove Brady -- and Jones -- right by leading Dallas to a Super Bowl next season. The Cowboys have not lifted the Vince Lombardi Trophy since the 1995 season, and that season is the last time Dallas played in an NFC Championship Game as well.

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