Remember when the Dallas Cowboys shocked the world and brought back Mike McCarthy for another season after the humiliating wild card loss to the Packers? That feels like ages ago, but owner Jerry Jones received just as much criticism for not giving McCarthy a one-year extension as he did for retaining him as head coach.

Entering the final year of his contract, McCarthy is a lame-duck coach. It’s anyone’s guess what the benchmark is for McCarthy to secure another season in Dallas, but a trip to the NFC Championship Game or Super Bowl feel like musts for him to save his job.

With McCarthy coaching for his job, the drama and storylines will write themselves. It makes for a long nine months and the process has already started a week before the NFL Draft.

In a ESPN recent article that touched on the fallout between Bill Belichick and the Patriots, and owner Robert Kraft seemingly sabotaging Belichick’s chances of getting the Falcons job, it was unearthed that the six-time Super Bowl champion has interest in coaching the Cowboys if he returns to coaching.

Cowboys rumors: Bill Belichick interested in coaching Dallas in 2025.

“He (Belichick)is believed to be biding his time until next January for openings on teams he has told confidants he would be interested in coaching: the Dallas Cowboys,Philadelphia Eagles andNew York Giants. A source who spoke with a longtime friend of Belichick said the friend wonders if the coach will have another opportunity: ‘I don’t think Bill Belichick will ever be a head coach again in the National Football League,’ the friend said. ‘Unless it’s [for] Jerry Jones.'”

The article added that Belichick told a friend that he fancied the idea of sticking it to Kraft by working for Jerry Jones.

It’s been speculated by NFL insiders that the Cowboys’ zoo-like atmosphere and culture would dissuade Belichick from taking the job altogether. Another red flag? Belichick’s alleged demand for having influence in personnel decisions. Many believe that would clash with Jones, who loves wielding power himself. While Jones isn’t the so-called mastermind behind Dallas’ roster moves, he has the final say as the de facto general manager.

This ESPN report not only debunks those theories, but makes it seem like Belichick relishes the thought of working with Jones, even if some of his motivation stems from sticking it to the Kraft family.

Uncertainty behind Dak Prescott’s future notwithstanding, the Cowboys are in win-now mode. That aligns perfectly with Belichick’s age, his chase for the most wins in NFL history and more importantly from Dallas’ perspective, his ability to convert a talented roster into a Super Bowl-caliber team.

Nine months of Belichick-to-Dallas discourse is going to be exhausting. The bigger takeaway, though, is that this ESPN report all but confirms that Mike McCarthy’s seat will be boiling hot from Week 1.