Cowboys deny Bears' request to interview Mike McCarthy; Could he return to Dallas?

Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Jan 7, 2025

Published in Football

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FORT WORTH, Texas — After the Chicago Bears put in a request to interview Mike McCarthy on Monday afternoon, the Dallas Cowboys have denied the request a little over 24 hours later, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

While McCarthy’s contract with the team technically expires on Wednesday, the Cowboys will have until next Tuesday, Jan. 14, to exclusively negotiate a potential deal with the head coach of the Cowboys for the last five seasons. When Jan. 14 arrives, McCarthy will be free to interview with any team across the NFL without permission from Dallas.

The decision from Jerry Jones and the Dallas front office is telling, given that Jones said on Sunday after the season finale loss to the Commanders that he would let McCarthy go talk with other teams if he decided he wanted to, adding that he wanted to work with people that wanted to be in Dallas.

The clock continues to tick on a decision from Jones on McCarthy’s future, although his comments from Sunday’s postgame availability offer the idea that he would like to “go in the direction of a deal” for his return if the two sides can agree on what that looks like.

“The determining [if McCarthy is back] and the negotiating [with McCarthy] is all in one motion,” Jones said. “It’s all one football motion. We’ll determine if the will is there and the terms are there.”

In five seasons with the team, McCarthy owns an overall record of 49-35 including three seasons in which the team finished 12-5 sandwiched between two injury-ridden campaigns in 2020 and 2024.

Chicago has also put in requests to interview Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka, Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. General manager Ryan Poles also confirmed Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown will get a formal interview after winning the team’s season finale on Sunday. Pete Carroll is also expected to land an interview in Chicago.