Mike McCarthy has been told that he will return as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 2022.

McCarthy's future with the Cowboys has come into question this week with Sean Payton walking away from the New Orleans Saints. Payton said on Tuesday that he doesn't plan to coach another team in 2022. 

McCarthy has said that he wasn't concerned about his future as head coach, saying in a news conference on Jan. 19 that he had positive conversations with Jerry Jones after the loss to the 49ers.

Dan Quinn has informed the Dallas Cowboys he will remain as defensive coordinator.

Quinn was a candidate for several head coaching jobs, most notably the Denver Broncos. Denver instead hired Nathaniel Hackett.

Quinn was previously a head coach with the Atlanta Falcons.

The San Francisco 49ers' victory over the Dallas Cowboys was the most-watched NFL Wild Card game on any network in seven years.

CBS Sports and Nickelodeon averaged 41.496 million viewers across both networks.

This year's broadcast was up +35% versus last year’s comparable game. The audience peaked with more than 50 million viewers (50.229) for the game’s conclusion. 

The Cowboys-Lions Wild Card game in 2015 brought in 42.320 million viewers. 

Dak Prescott apologized Tuesday via Twitter for his postgame comments regarding Dallas Cowboys fans throwing things at the officials after Sunday's Wild Card loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

A postgame question to Prescott on Sunday initially indicated the fans were throwing things at his teammates in anger, which he called, "sad." However, when he was told the objects were directed at the officials, he said, "Credit to them then. Credit to them."

Prescott tweeted:  "I deeply regret the comments I made regarding the officials after the game on Sunday. I was caught up in the emotion of a disappointing loss and my words were uncalled for and unfair.

"I hold the NFL Officials in the highest regard and have always respected their professionalism and the difficulty of their jobs. The safety of everyone who attends a game or participates on the field of a sporting event is a very serious matter.

"That was a mistake on my behalf, and I am sorry."

Dan Quinn will interview for the head coaching position of the Denver Broncos on Tuesday.

Quinn is currently the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys.

Quinn has three more interviews later this week and is considered one of the more sought after candidates of this cycle.

Quinn was previously head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

Jerry Jones thought the Dallas Cowboys had a roster that could contend for the Super Bowl this season, but they were eliminated by the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card round.

“We had about as good a putting-it-together and good fortune with some of the decisions we’ve made,” Jones said. “We had it come together about as good as you could do it, and we had it come together with about as healthy as you can be.”

Jones was asked about a potential coaching change with Mike McCarthy.

“I don’t even want to discuss anything like that at this particular time. No discussion about anything,” Jones said.

He was more direct on a follow up about McCarthy having his team “unprepared.”

“I’m not going to discuss coaching, preparation, any of those things. That is not on the table,” Jones said of a coaching change.

For his part, McCarthy said he is unconcerned about his future in Dallas.

“I don’t have any concerns,” McCarthy said. “I’m proud to be standing here today. I’m proud of my football team.”

The NFL has fined Amari Cooper $14,650 for violating the COVID-19 protocols for unvaccinated players by attending a Dallas Mavericks game last week and not wearing a mask, according to a source.

Prior to attending the Mavericks game, Cooper was on the sideline at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, cheering on Alabama against Cincinnati.

Cooper was with teammates CeeDee Lamb (Mavericks) and Trevon Diggs (Cotton Bowl), but since they have been vaccinated, they do not have the same restrictions and were not fined.

After the regular-season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles, Cooper was asked about being more careful about interactions, with the postseason beginning.

"You don't want to get sick. This is the tournament. We train so hard in the offseason, OTAs, camp, to get to this point. We accomplished that goal thus far," Cooper said. "We're going to do everything we can do to not get sick. If that means isolation, then that's what that means. Hopefully we can isolate enough to not catch it."

The Wild Card Weekend schedule is set beginning with the Cincinnati Bengals hosting the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday afternoon and concluding on Monday Night Football when the Los Angeles Rams host the Arizona Cardinals.

Here is the TV schedule and current lines for each game:

Saturday, 3:30 PM, NBC
Las Vegas Raiders at Cincinnati Bengals, -6.5

Saturday, 7:15 PM, CBS
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills, -4.5

Sunday, 12:00 PM, FOX
Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, -9.0

Sunday, 3:30 PM, CBS
San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys, -3.0

Sunday, 7:15 PM, NBC
Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs, -12.5

Monday, 7:15 PM, ESPN
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams, -4.5

The NFL has announced its television schedule for Wild Card Weekend.

Saturday:

4:30 PM: Bengals vs. Raiders (NBC)

8:15 PM: Bills vs. Patriots (CBS)

Sunday:

1 PM: Bucs vs. Eagles (FOX)

4:30 PM: Cowboys vs. 49ers (CBS)

8:15 PM: Chiefs vs. Steelers (NBC)

Monday:

8:15 PM: Rams/Cardinals (ESPN)

Michael Gallup likely suffered a torn left ACL in the second quarter of the Dallas Cowboys' 25-22 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.

Jerry Jones said Gallup will undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the extent of the injury, which was suffered on a touchdown catch.

Gallup is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

"Feel terrible for Michael," Mike McCarthy said. "Obviously made a huge play, but you could see just the way he came down."