Troy Aikman didn’t sugarcoat his feelings about his former team, the Dallas Cowboys, not bringing back Mike McCarthy as head coach.

Aikman, while appearing on ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” before calling the NFC wild-card clash between the Rams and Vikings, said he was caught off guard by contract negotiations between a coach of McCarthy’s caliber and the Cowboys falling apart on Monday. 

“I thought Mike McCarthy would be the head coach, so this is a bit of a surprise for me today that he’s not going to be,” Aikman said. “It suggests that there’s not a real plan, the fact that they haven’t had the opportunity to maybe interview a Ben Johnson (of the Lions), some of these others, Aaron Glenn.

“What (Adam) Schefter said as far as (Eagles offensive coordinator) Kellen Moore being a candidate, that seems logical to me. A guy who has familiarity with the building, with the Cowboys, with Jerry Jones — they know each other very well. Beyond that, it’s hard to imagine.” 

Aikman, who won three Super Bowls in Dallas, then questioned if the Cowboys are still a desired destination by top coaching candidates  – even with it being “America’s Team.”

“As far as a coveted job, I don’t know that that’s accurate,” Aikman said. “I do think the Cowboys are obviously a high-profile team. Whoever is head coach of that team is certainly going to draw a lot of attention. I think most football people that take over as a head coach, they want to do it on their terms. That’s hard to do. If you take a Dan Campbell (from the Lions), for instance — is Dan Campbell Dan Campbell if he’s with the Dallas Cowboys? It’s hard to imagine that he is. It’s hard to imagine that a lot of these coaches might be.

“I love the Dallas Cowboys. I played there for 12 years. I wish them well. But to say that it’s a coveted job, I’m not sure I necessarily would agree with that.”

Jones’ omnipresence and role as the general manager make the Cowboys a very unique situation, one McCarthy seemed to navigate during his five-year tenure that ended Monday.

“Over the past week, Mike and I had the opportunity to conduct a joint review of all aspects of the past season, our players and staff, and also spent considerable time discussing the road forward for the team,” Jones said in a statement. 

“These discussions were thorough and received an appropriate amount of time and depth to cover. Prior to reaching the point of contract negotiations, though, it became mutually clear that it would be better for each of us to head in a different direction. I thank Mike and wish him, his wife Jessica and their family the best. They have been a wonderful part of our community here. We will commence a search process immediately to hire the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.”

McCarthy went 49-35 with the Cowboys, reaching the playoffs in 2021, 2022 and 2023, but they won just one postseason game in that span. Dallas went 7-10 this season after losing starting quarterback Dak Prescott to injury in Week 9.

The Cowboys may be left to play catch-up on the coaching search as the Jets, Bears, Jaguars, Raiders and Saints have already begun the interview process. The Patriots also recently hired Mike Vrabel to fill their vacancy.  

However, Fox insider Jordan Schultz reported Monday that Dallas has reached out to Colorado coach and former Cowboy Deion Sanders about their coaching vacancy.

Whoever gets the job will walk into a situation Aikman would like to see improve.

“I think Mike McCarthy is an outstanding football coach. He’s proven that in this league,” Aikman said. “But you also have to empower that head coach. And that’s been what has been missing in Dallas since Jimmy Johnson walked out the door.”