Dallas Cowboys' Mike McCarthy told he will return as head coach in 2022

A source confirmed to Ed Werder that Mike McCarthy will return as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 2022.

Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones has so far declined to commit to McCarthy's return publicly after Dallas' playoff exit with a wild-card round loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

McCarthy was told he will return, according to USA Today Sports.

With Sean Payton leaving the New Orleans Saints this week, it only increased speculation about McCarthy's future given Jones' affinity for him.

He doesn't plan to coach another team in 2022. If he wanted to coach another team, the Saints would have to agree to trade compensation.

Stephen Jones said in an interview with 105.3 The Fan in Dallas that he was very confident that McCarthy would return, but just days later, Jerry Jones wouldn't reveal his conversations with the coaching staff and their futures in an interview.

McCarthy said in a new conference that he had positive conversations with Jerry Jones after the loss to the 49ers.

McCarthy has an 18-15 regular-season record in two seasons, which includes a 12-5 mark and the NFC East title in 2021.

According to sources, the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins, and New York Giants will be interviewing for the head-coaching vacancies of next season.

The offense finished the season with no consistency, scoring 16 and 9 points in losses to the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs in a three-week span. They scored 56 and 51 points in two of their last three games, but lost a key home game in Week 17 against the Arizona Cardinals that effectively ended their chances for the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

They scored 17 points and trailed by 16 points at the end of the game. A potential game-winning drive was stopped when the clock ran out and the ball was not set for play in time. McCarthy has had several clock-management issues during his two-year tenure.

Penalties have been an issue. The Cowboys had 127 penalties for 1,103 yards. The Cowboys were flagged 14 times for 89 yards in their playoff loss to San Francisco, tying for the most in a playoff game in team history.

ToddArcher contributed to this report.