The Dallas Cowboys "are believed to be in play" for Bill Belichick, an eight-time Super Bowl champion who just mutually parted ways with the New England Patriots after 24 years coaching the team, according to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

"Yes, the Cowboys are believed to be in play [for Belichick]," Florio said on NBC's pre-game show Saturday. "There's a long history of respect and admiration between Bill Belichick and Jerry Jones. They have a great team there. Belichick could just go in and coach it to places they haven't been in a very long time."

The Cowboys, of course, still have a head coach in Mike McCarthy. Dallas is also the NFC's No. 2 seed, and the team is set to host the Green Bay Packers in a Wild Card matchup on Sunday.

McCarthy, who became the Cowboys' head coach in 2020, has fared well in the past three regular seasons, going 12-5 in each campaign.

It's been an impressive run for a team that hadn't made the playoffs in three straight seasons since its early-to-mid 1990s dynasty, which featured Dallas winning three Super Bowls (1992, 1993, 1995) over six playoff-bound campaigns (1991-1996).

However, playoff success had eluded McCarthy's Cowboys. The San Francisco 49ers upset Dallas in the NFC Wild Card round in 2021. Dallas then engineered a dominant win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in last year's wild-card matchup but fell to the 49ers in the Divisional round.

The Cowboys notably haven't advanced past the Divisional round since their last Super Bowl-winning season in 1995. Another early playoff exit could conceivably bring about changes in some capacity.

But there have been some murmurs of late, even with Dallas flying into the playoffs with its best seed since 2016. Here's what ESPN's Adam Schefter had to say on Jan. 6.

"There continues to be a feeling from people around the league, and even some within the Cowboys organization, that coach Mike McCarthy will be measured by how Dallas' final game goes.

"If the Cowboys play well in the postseason, McCarthy would have an excellent chance to keep his job. But if they struggle and end the season with an embarrassing loss, as has happened in each of the past two years, then some say that change could come to Dallas."

Two days later, Dallas finished the season with a 38-10 victory over the Washington Commanders to earn the NFC East crown. Postgame, owner Jerry Jones didn't exactly put a stamp on McCarthy returning for certain in 2024, per ESPN's Todd Archer.

"What he's done, the fact that we put ourselves in this position over the last three years, I think that does speak for itself," Jones said.

"We've got a lot of football left, and in no small part, thanks to Mike, thanks to his staff and thanks to some really outstanding players around here. So we'll see how each game goes."

There's ultimately a lot of smoke here surrounding McCarthy's future in Dallas, especially now with Belichick available. McCarthy, of course, can put a stop to the rumors and speculation with a deep playoff run. Dallas will look to start that on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET when the Packers come to town.