Even though the Dallas Cowboys season will end on Sunday, Mike McCarthy’s contract with the club will actually extend slightly beyond that day.

The extra time gives the Cowboys a nine-day window after the end of the season in which McCarthy can only negotiate with them.

McCarthy’s camp is making sure to put out feelers for other teams in case he’s not back in Dallas next season. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Thursday that McCarthy “could set his sights” on the Chicago Bears job if he leaves the Cowboys.

It would seem likely that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would make a decision, one way or another, before Jan. 14 because other teams in the coaching market will be well into their search by that point.

The NFL did adjust its rules in October 2023 so that in-person interviews with candidates currently employed by other teams have to wait until after the divisional round of the playoffs.

Teams are still permitted to conduct virtual interviews with external candidates, as well as in-person interviews with internal candidates and those not currently employed by a team.

Jones is doing a good job of keeping everyone guessing about his plans for McCarthy.

“What I’m not going to do this morning is to get into any indication one way or the other that I’m not interested in having Mike back,” Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan (h/t ESPN’s Todd Archer). “I don’t want that to be the case at all. We got this game ahead of us, but I’ll assure you I’ve been for weeks thinking about how we’ll go forward after this season.”

During the same radio appearance, Jones said he’s “not under any unusual time frame at all” in terms of feeling like he has to make a quick decision about McCarthy’s future after Sunday’s season finale against the Washington Commanders.

McCarthy is 49-34 with three playoff appearances and two NFC East titles in five seasons with the Cowboys.