One general manager position in the NFL has already been filled, but four other vacancies remain. Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay has been a top candidate in outside searches, but he will not be on the move in 2024.
ESPN’s Todd Archer reports McClay has elected to withdraw from GM consideration for this year’s hiring cycle. He had been a sought-after executive in the early days of the search process of some teams, but he is content in his present situation. McClay is in his seventh season under his current title.
The 57-year-old joined the Cowboys in 2003 as a member of the team’s scouting department, and he has remained in Dallas ever since. McClay has worked on the scouting side of the organization, but also research and player personnel. His experience has made him a highly valuable member of the Cowboys’ front office, something which generated GM interest late in the 2010s.
After choosing to stay the course with Dallas, McClay witnessed a somewhat surprising drought of interview requests in recent years. That changed in 2024, however, with the Chargers and Commanders asking to meet with him. The Panthers were also floated as a potential suitor, but no formal interview request emerged. The market he would have had has now once again become a moot point given his decision to stand pat.
Adam Peters has been tapped as Washington’s new GM, but Carolina, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New England remain on the lookout for a hire to lead their teams’ respective front offices. Several strong candidates are under consideration, but – as has been the case before – McClay will not be one of them.
57? Is he waiting for more experience?
Maybe he’d prefer to avoid the stress and see his family and live longer? I’m sure the McClay’s are not surviving on rice and potatoes in Dallas.
I don’t blame him if that’s the case, but this makes it sound likes he’s just not looking this year
Nah they’re Raman Noodle supreme type people lol
We don’t know how much the Cowboys are paying him and with Jones’s age, there also might be succession plans in place.
Why would Jones want to promote a guy nearly 60 years old? You’d think they’d go younger for longevity purposes
60 is the new 40. McClay should be doing this for years and years to come.
And McClay is top notch in his player personnel role. The Cowboys are fortunate to have him.
Jerry Jones said one time there is no salary cap on coaches and front office executives
salaries and they didn’t have to be shared publicly.
The article says he was a candidate in 2010 or ‘11 but elected to stay put and after that interest dried up, that’s why. Why he pulled his name this, maybe at 57, he decided he wants to stay in Dallas.
Jerry gave McClay a raise on his already substantial salary, or offered one of McClay’s son a job with the Cowboys. Clever move by Jerry, as McClay has done excellent work over decades maintaining a quality roster, even as Jones overspends on all the Dallas namebrand stars, washed-up and not yet washed-up.
He said it’s about his son. Why knock someone for wanting so stability in their and their family’s lifes?
Family first
Familiarity second
Taxes next
Don Barzini: “A refusal is not the act of a friend”