ORLANDO, Fla. – As he unwound, sipping on a beverage following a long day of sessions at the NFL meetings this week, there was little doubt that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is intent on working the uncertainty surrounding the status of coach Mike McCarthy for all it’s worth.

Motivational fuel? Good business? Both?

McCarthy survived with his job intact following the disastrous ending against the Green Bay Packers in January – arguably the worst playoff loss in franchise history, which included a 27-0 deficit in the first half – but his future seems murky as Jones has declared (again) that he’s ‘all-in’ for chasing that elusive championship glory in 2024. McCarthy is on the final year of his five-year contract as the poster image for the NFL hot seat.

‘I’m not concerned about that,’ Jones told USA TODAY Sports during a 45-minute chat at the resort where owners, coaches and other NFL biggies convened.

‘Most of America gets up and they don’t have it guaranteed in front of them. You’re going to write what you’re going to write, but when you ask me about not extending him, my answer is that most of America doesn’t have anything guaranteed down the road. Most folks don’t have guarantees.’

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Jones, the league’s most high-profile (and loquacious) owner running the most high-profile franchise, maintained that he isn’t trying to send a win-big-or-else message as McCarthy and most, if not all, of his staff of assistants proceed with lame-duck status. Yeah, right. Intentional or not, that’s exactly what he’s doing with the thick drama hovering above the Cowboys.

The heat is turned up, for better or for worse.

‘I’ve had coaches in their final year before,’ he said, pointing to McCarthy’s predecessor, Jason Garrett, as an example. ‘I just am comfortable like this. There’s nothing that keeps me from extending him next week. Or during training camp. So, it’s not fait accompli that he’s going to coach this year without a contract (extension). I didn’t want to get into it as this particular time. We’ve had other contracts come up that we haven’t extended. No reason other than I wanted to manage it that way.

‘You’ve got a very significant problem in the NFL with dead money for coaches. And it’s because you’ve got extended contracts, to where if you let somebody go, you’ve got to pay off their contract. It’s gotten to be so much of an issue that you can decide if you want to do what you do this year and reshuffle the cards next year with them. There’s nothing that says I won’t be extending those coaches next year. They’re all good coaches. Obviously. That’s just the way I do it.

‘I’m doing it, to be very candid with you, because we have such a problem with dead money with coaches in the NFL. So, that’s what I’m trying to avoid.’

It has to be only so comforting (or not) when the team’s owner is bemoaning dead money. McCarthy knows. The NFL is a high-stakes, cut-throat business. Embarrassing playoff failures don’t cut it. Especially when it’s become a trend. Yet McCarthy is seemingly taking the increased heat – against the backdrop of the Cowboys’ massive spotlight – in stride.

‘I don’t see it as any more pressure,’ McCarthy, 60, said during the NFC coaches breakfast media session on Tuesday. “I think that’s just the reality of our business.’

He added that he put it to the younger coaches on his staff like this: ‘You have to bet on yourself.’

Despite the playoff failures, McCarthy guided the Cowboys to two NFC East titles and 36 regular-season victories over the past three years – second-most to the back-to-back defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (37) during that span. That’s why Jones contends that the Cowboys have been ‘hanging around the rim’ – hardly a source of comfort for the fan base of a franchise that hasn’t won a Super Bowl in 28 years.

Then there was McCarthy’s work last season with Dak Prescott after taking over the offense from since-departed coordinator Kellen Moore. Prescott led the NFL with 36 touchdown passes and was runner-up to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson for league MVP honors.

Jones may have thought hard about it after the embarrassing setback, but he is hardly ready to break up the McCarthy-Prescott dynamic. At least not now.

‘Mike took over the offense and did it his way, did his application and coaching to Dak,’ Jones said. ‘Dak got better and everybody agrees – Dak, Mike and me, too – that he can do better.’

Like his coach, Prescott is entering the final year his contract, a four-year, $160 million deal. And like McCarthy, the playoff meltdowns have created a narrative of its own for Prescott.

Yet unlike the case with McCarthy, Jones has publicly stated his intention to ultimately sign Prescott to an extension. The twist with Prescott’s situation, though, is that the quarterback holds some leverage with a contract clause that prevents the Cowboys from keeping him off the market with a franchise tag if his deal expires.

Of course, Jones wouldn’t mind if Prescott, 30, gains additional leverage by leading the Cowboys to a Super Bowl crown.

‘He’s got leverage now,’ Jones said. ‘We both want him to be in a real good negotiating position. It’s actually more fun if I’m negotiating with them after we’ve won the Super Bowl.’

Although the Cowboys are ‘all-in,’ there’s the reality of the challenges that have surfaced since the free agency market opened in mid-March. Cap-strapped Dallas lost eight free agents, including six starters. The lone addition to this point is linebacker Eric Kendricks, reunited with new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

So, after having nine players from last season’s team earn Pro Bowl plaudits, the equation for McCarthy to succeed this season includes getting impact from the upcoming draft and progression from young returnees on the roster.

Jones, also faced with the prospect of signing young stars CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons to long-term extensions, will tell you that even the best coaches can’t thrive without enough talent. Or at least without figuring out how to extract the best from the resources at hand.

Which is why they’re paid the big bucks. If they survive.

‘You can say that about coaching,’ Jones said. ‘But I’ll say it about everybody.’

That, too, is quite the bottom-line message.

ALBANY, N.Y. — South Carolina is not invincible.

Indiana proved that, erasing all but two points of the undefeated and overall No. 1 seed Gamecocks’ 22-point lead. But the way the game ended, and one statistic, ought to terrify any team that has to face South Carolina over the next 10 days.

Starting with you, Oregon State.

South Carolina shot a season-best 50% from 3-point range, the last from Raven Johnson with 53 seconds left putting a dagger in Indiana’s comeback hopes.

The 50% was well above South Carolina’s average (39.8) this year. Which is, notably, better than the 30% the Gamecocks shot from 3-point range last year, when they were eliminated in the Final Four. A game in which they were 20% from deep.

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See a theme developing here? “Anytime you are trying to put together a championship team, you figure out what your weaknesses are. You figure out what people scheme, (what they) play against you,” coach Dawn Staley said after the 79-75 win that sent the Gamecocks on to the Elite Eight for the fourth year in a row.

It’s not a secret to anyone that South Carolina is going to get its points inside. It has three players 6-foot-3 or taller who play 15 minutes or more, with Kamilla Cardoso being the tallest at 6-foot-7. There aren’t many teams that can match that. Or stop that.

Against Indiana, Cardoso had a game-high 22 points and three blocks, and four of her seven rebounds were on the offensive glass. As a team, South Carolina outscored the Hoosiers 42-26 in the paint.

Add a potent outside game, and it’s simply not a fair fight. How do you defend against that? You’d need to play 10 on 5, or spot opponents a 30-point lead, to have a chance.

And an NCAA that’s now policing nose rings isn’t likely to bend the rules like that.

“You can’t just shut one player down on our team,” said Johnson, who was a perfect 3-of-3 from long range and finished with 14 points. The three 3s matched her career high.

“We just bring different weapons,” Johnson added. “When it comes to scouting us, we can shoot from the outside, we can dominate in the paint, we have drivers, everything. How can you guard us? That’s how I look at it.”

At which point Staley replied, “We gave up a 17- or 20-point lead.”

It was 22, to be exact. And Staley has a valid point, one that won’t go unnoticed by anyone from here on out.

“Obviously we’d like to get a lead and hold serve throughout,” Staley said. “That didn’t happen, and we know it’s not going to happen with teams like Indiana, teams like Oregon State. Now no lead is safe.”

South Carolina is also a young team, with Cardoso and Te-Hina Paopao, who transferred from Oregon after last season, the only seniors who play significant minutes. Young teams tend to be streaky and, when they get leads, can be careless.

When Indiana was erasing South Carolina’s lead, Staley said she saw her team trying to make a basket to stop the run rather than just get a stop.

“We took some bad shots that led to some easy buckets for them,” Staley said. “We just have to control those situations a little bit better.”

But South Carolina is able to answer those situations because of the way it’s built this year.

After Mackenzie Holmes pulled Indiana to within 74-72 on her driving layup with 1:08 to play, Staley called a timeout. The play, she said, was to get Cardoso the ball inside.

Indiana knew that, however, and had her blanketed. Rather than panicking and forcing a shot or, worse, committing a turnover, the Gamecocks kicked the ball out to Johnson.

“I was open and all I could think was, `Let it go.’ I don’t want to lose. Nobody can sag off me this year and I take that very personal,’ said Johnson, who was famously waved off by Caitlin Clark in last year’s Final Four game. ‘I get in the gym every day and put up reps, and I think that’s where it comes from, the confidence.”

South Carolina cannot count on pulling off escape acts in every game. But if it does find itself in a jam, it knows it can find a way out.

Several different ways, including the long way.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

Two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Haason Reddick is on his way to the Big Apple.

The Philadelphia Eagles are trading Reddick to the New York Jets for a conditional 2026 third-round pick that could become a second-round selection, a person with knowledge of the trade told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. The pick is elevated to a second-round selection if Reddick plays at least 67.5% of this season and has 10 or more sacks.

Reddick, who is entering the final year of his contract, is seeking a contract extension.

The Eagles signed former Jets edge rusher Bryce Huff in free agency and restructured Josh Sweat’s contract to keep the defensive end with the team.

Reddick was Philadelphia’s most productive pass rusher in his two-year tenure with the organization, leading the team in sacks in each of the last two campaigns. He totaled 87 tackles, 27 sacks and 24 tackles for loss in 34 regular-season games.

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The Eagles signed Reddick in 2022 after the pass rusher spent one season with the Carolina Panthers. Reddick played his first four years for the Arizona Cardinals.

Reddick has 52 sacks over the past five seasons, the fifth most of any player in that span.

Reddick’s pass-rushing ability is a major boon for an already talented Jets defense. He joins a defensive front that already includes Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. The Jets had the NFL’s No. 3 ranked defense in 2023.

The Jets have had an active offseason as the team tries to earn a playoff berth for the first time since the 2010 season, the longest active postseason drought in the NFL. Gang Green’s big offseason additions includes left tackle Tyron Smith, right tackle Morgan Moses, offensive guard John Simpson, defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, wide receiver Mike Williams and now Reddick.

DALLAS — The 11th-seeded North Carolina State men’s basketball team is headed to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1986 after holding off No. 2 seed Marquette 67-58 in Friday’s Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament at American Airlines Center.

DJ Horne finished with a team-high 19 points to pace the Wolfpack in the win.

Marquette makes DJ Burns decision early

Coaches who have seen DJ Burns Jr. throughout March Madness have noted the difficult decision they have to make. Either let the 6-foot-9, 275-pounder go one-on-one against a much smaller, physically overmatch opponent and hope for the best, or double him and force the ball out of his hands.

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Marquette showed its hand early, opting to double Burns even out by the 3-point line to force other Wolfpack players to beat him. It backfired in a big way.

In the first 20 minutes, Burns had five assists and just two points, and it led to a 37-24 lead for NC State at the half. Burns did luck out when he was whistled for his second foul of the half with 5:47 left, though officials rescinded the foul after reviewing it for a potential flagrant situation.

Wolfpack perimeter defensive plan works

One key to NC State’s success in the postseason has been holding opponents to poor outside shooting games. It started with limiting Texas Tech to its worst outside shooting game in four months and continued to lift the team against Marquette.

Unlike the Texas Tech game, though, NC State wasn’t exactly being aggressive in keeping the Golden Eagles from firing up 3s. In fact, Marquette had a number of clean, open looks, though the Golden Eagles were just 2-of-13 from the outside in the first half.

NC State led by 13 at the half, but the margin felt much bigger due to Marquette’s usually potent offense being rendered useless beyond Tyler Kolek, who was 6-of-8 at the break for 14 points. The rest of his teammates were just 4-of-21 from the field.

Cold spell lets Golden Eagles back in the game

The Wolfpack had a much more relaxed effort through the first 13 minutes of the second half. For the majority of that stretch, the Golden Eagles didn’t make up any ground.

Then came a three-minute stretch of no scoring for the Wolfpack. In that time, Marquette went on a 7-0 run to make it an eight-point game with 7:26 left, the closest the Golden Eagles had been since the 2:59 mark of the first half.

Wolfpack finish the job

Just as it looked like Marquette might get back into it, the Wolfpack had the answer.

First it was Horne with his four 3-pointer of the game to answer one on the either end by Marquette’s Kam Jones. Then following a Golden Eagle turnover, Casey Morsell got a tricky layup to rattle around the rim and through the net, putting the Wolfpack back up by eight with less than two minutes to go.

Michael O’Connell put the exclamation point on the win with a 3 to make it a double-digit lead and less than 90 seconds remaining.

In their first game of 2024, the New York Mets’ and Milwaukee Brewers’ benches cleared in the eighth inning Friday following a play at second base .

Rhys Hoskins slid hard into second to break up a potential double play, bringing down Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil – who immediately popped up and stood over Hoskins yelling at him.

The benches and bullpens emptied as McNeil and Hoskins continued to exchange words, with shouting going on for several minutes as the teams stood around on the field.

McNeil dropped the ball on the transition from his glove but Hoskins was still ruled out. The Mets challenged the call on the field to see if Hoskins had committed an illegal slide, but umpires came back and confirmed that Hoskins’ takeout was clean.

It was a frustrating afternoon for the Mets, who managed just one hit in the 3-1 loss.

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‘He’s had some pretty questionable slides at second base, for sure,’ McNeil said of Hoskins after the game. ‘I definitely remember looking at some in the past that were not okay, so i knew there was a possibility that might happen.’

Hoskins spent the first seven years of his career with the Mets’ NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies and has something of a history with the Mets, namely a series of events in 2019 that involved him getting thrown at and subsequently taking an incredibly slow home run trot around the bases at Citi Field.

‘He just seems to be complaining when things aren’t going well,’ Hoskins said about McNeil’s reaction. ‘I think that’s kind of one of those moments. Maybe lost in the heat of the game.’

Hoskins, 31, missed the entire 2023 season after tearing his ACL in spring training. He signed a two-year, $34 million contract with the Brewers in the offseason and can opt out after the 2024 season.