The Chicago Bears’ head coaching search took, perhaps, its most interesting turn when the Dallas Cowboys and Mike McCarthy failed to come to terms on a new contract. Both sides agreed to seek new opportunities. Dallas had blocked the Bears’ request to interview McCarthy before his contract expired.
Their rejection seemingly signaled that the two sides were hammering out details on a new deal. Instead, McCarthy can interview freely.
Mike McCarthy a Former Franchise ‘Owner’ Vying for Bears HC Job
Record: 174-112-2 (DAL: 49-35; GB: 125-77-2)
Playoff Record: 11-11 (DAL: 1-3; GB: 10-8)
Mike McCarthy’s Brings Notable Resume Into Bears HC Interview
McCarthy arrives with a resume rivaled only by Pete Carroll among the Bears’ interviewees, including the ones yet to come. He is in his 38th year on the sidelines, the last 18 of which have been as a head coach. There was a two-year hiatus after the Green Bay Packers fired him in 2018 before joining the Cowboys in 2020.
After a 6-10 season in Year 1, McCarthy’s Cowboys won 12 games in three straight seasons.
They made the postseason following each one of those campaigns, missing it this season with starting quarterback Dak Prescott’s hamstring injury knocking him out after eight games. McCarthy’s lack of postseason success had been a source of discussion entering 2024.
McCarthy’s Packers made the postseason in nine of his 13 seasons guiding them, including eight straight from 2009 through 2016.
He was at the helm with the Packers beat the Bears in the 2010 NFC Championship Game.
The Packers went on to win the Super Bowl that season, again putting McCarthy in rarified air among Bears head coach candidates. Injuries cut Aaron Rodgers’ season short in 2017. In 2018, McCarthy and the Packers struggled, losing five of six games before the coach was fired.
Mike McCarthy’s Lakefront Property
Rodgers has taken great pride in his domination over the Bears during his Packers tenure, and he has gone so far as to transfer ownership to his successor, Jordan Love. But McCarthy was a big part of that era of the Packers’ reign.
The Packers were 18-7 against the Bears with him as their head coach. Five of those losses came before the NFCCG in 2010.
McCarthy’s Cowboys boasted top-five scoring offenses from 2021 through 2023. They were the No. 1 unit in two of those seasons.
McCarthy has strong ties to the New Orleans Saints, who are also looking for a head coach, spending five years there as offensive coordinator from 2000 to 2004. That stint was sandwiched between ones with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.
Perhaps the most telling piece of information about the meeting is the locale.
McCarthy is set to meet the Bears in Lake Forest at Halas Hall, something many of his competitors cannot do due to league rules. His experience in these situations could give him an upper hand on his competition too. Whether or not he is the right coach for the Bears is something that remains to be seen.
However, McCarthy does have a track record that warrants an interview, even if it is simply to pick the brain of a long-time tormentor.