The Dallas Cowboys are looking for their 10th coach in franchise history right now because on Monday morning it was announced that they and Mike McCarthy would be parting ways.

Dallas moving on from McCarthy is not shocking in a vacuum, but the manner in which they went about it was certainly unique. The Cowboys waited over a week into the offseason to make such a move and in the process handicapped their ability to find his successor.

Whatever comes next remains to be seen, but before it does the Cowboys have to firmly say goodbye to the chapter that was. On Monday afternoon, the Cowboys released a statement from Jerry Jones on behalf of the situation at large.

It is interesting to note that the statement specifically says that it became “mutually” clear that the two sides needed to move on “prior to reaching the point of contract negotiations.”

This runs counter to the reporting that many NFL insiders have had on the subject. Many reporters have said that contract length was the hold up and primary issue, but Jerry Jones’ statement directly says that contract negotiations never began. The next few weeks and months will potentially shed light on what really happened over the past week.