McCarthy’s five-year contract with the club ended in the wake of the team’s 23-19 loss to Washington to end the regular season. But the veteran coach’s contract contains an exclusive negotiating window with the Cowboys that doesn’t expire until Tuesday.

This is what Cowboys purgatory looks like. Mike McCarthy’s job with the team is very much undecided with his contract expiring in less than a week. But as ESPN reported Thursday, the “future” was on the table during a recent discussion between the Super Bowl-winning coach and team owner Jerry Jones.

Much has been made on sports talk shows and among other NFL pundits about the supposed ‘mess’ that is the Dallas Cowboys handling of the Mike McCarthy head coach question. There is plenty of talk about Dallas mistreating Mike McCarthy by not making a decision,