Bears request permission to interview Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy: Source

By Kevin Fishbain, Adam Jahns, Jon Machota, Saad Yousuf and RJ Kraft

The Chicago Bears have requested permission to interview Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy for their own coaching position, a league source said Monday.

The Cowboys have exclusive rights to McCarthy until Jan. 14, so teams must request permission to speak with the Super Bowl-winning coach before that date. But after Jan. 14, if McCarthy doesn’t have a new contract with Dallas, he’s free to interview wherever he wants.

Chicago is looking for a new coach after firing Matt Eberflus on Friday following their Thanksgiving loss to the Detroit Lions. He went 14-32 in three seasons with the Bears. Thomas Brown coached the team for the final five games of the season – going 1-4 – as Chicago finished the 2024 season with a 5-12 record. The Bears are expected to cast a wide net in the team’s coaching search, but the team has already been linked to Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, among others.

With quarterback Caleb Williams fresh off his rookie season, it’s expected the Bears will want to pair him with an offensive mind as a head coach to further develop the No. 1 pick from the 2024 draft, but the term “leader of men” has also been mentioned somewhat as a key to the Chicago search.

After the Cowboys’ Week 18 loss, in which Dallas finished the season 7-10, McCarthy made it clear after Sunday’s game that he “absolutely” wants to remain in Dallas.

“I’ve invested a lot here,” McCarthy said. “And the Cowboys have invested a lot in me. And then there is a personal side to all these decisions. They all point in the right direction. … I am a builder. I believe in building programs. I believe in developing young players. In the end, it’s all about winning. You need these components in place to get this thing where it needs to be. I think we have a really good foundation there.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has praised McCarthy’s work in recent weeks. When asked Sunday about a potential coaching change, Jones replied, “I don’t know if I’m thinking about making a change.” But Jones also indicated he didn’t want to stand in the way of McCarthy talking to other teams if another organization sought permission, as the Bears have.

“Then I would say, ‘go and talk.’ I really would,” Jones said. “Go and talk. I just let (Ezekiel Elliott) do it. It’s not healthy to have someone around you who wants to be somewhere else.”

In 18 seasons as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers and Cowboys, McCarthy has a 174-112-2 regular season record with an 11-11 record in the playoffs, and he won the 2010 Super Bowl. McCarthy’s five seasons with the Cowboys have seen him put together three 12-win seasons en route to a 49-35 record and a 1-3 mark in the postseason.

Why McCarthy is a good fit for the Bears

Bears fans seem excited about the possibility of McCarthy becoming their head coach, but he would be the most accomplished coach to step into Halas Hall in … decades? He’s a Super Bowl champion. He’s won 11 playoff games – The Bears have won 11 playoff games since 1963. He knows how to run an offense and has worked with Hall of Fame quarterbacks, making him a good matchup with Williams.

After being a head coach for 18 years, he can assemble a staff and implement a winning culture. He knows how to win in the division and do it in cold weather — he went 9-3 (including an NFC Championship victory in the 2010 season) at Soldier Field as the Packers’ coach. There are reasonable questions about his game management and struggles in Dallas in big games, but he’s an offensive mind that has won — isn’t that what the Bears need? – Kevin Fishbain, Bears beat writer

Williams could benefit greatly from McCarthy

As promised by team president/CEO Kevin Warren, the Bears are apparently in the early stages of conducting an extensive search for Eberflus’ replacement. The team’s interest in McCarthy is not that surprising. McCarthy is an offensive-minded head coach who had success in the NFC North as the former Packers coach.

Williams has also said several times that his favorite player is Aaron Rodgers. McCarthy and Rodgers won a Super Bowl with the Packers. Under McCarthy, Rodgers was named the league’s MVP in 2011 and 2014. Williams said he will continue to examine the success of top QBs as he takes the next step in his career in his second season. Rodgers, of course, comes to mind. McCarthy could be a great resource for Williams when it comes to that. — Adam Jahns, Bears beat writer

Dallas’ delay on a coaching decision doesn’t help

The Cowboys’ insistence on delaying the decision on how to proceed as head coach complicates the matter more than it should. Jones himself said before the season finale that he had all the information needed to make a decision, but a day after the season ended, the Cowboys have yet to announce their intentions to part ways with McCarthy, who Dallas has an exclusive on negotiating . rights with until January 14, or give him an extension.

Jones said Sunday that if McCarthy wanted to talk to another team, he would honor that request because “it’s not healthy to have somebody around who wants to be somewhere else.” The problem is McCarthy doesn’t know he has a choice and whether his options include Dallas. McCarthy made it clear after the season finale that he would like to return to Dallas, but Jones is the one who hasn’t made his position clear.

Now, if the Cowboys reject the Bears’ request and continue to not extend McCarthy, it will be a tough look for the front office and ownership, which would then be in the market to lure a quality head coach to Dallas. McCarthy hired agent Don Yee last offseason, who also represents Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton, among others. — Saad Yousuf, Cowboys beat writer

The ball is in Jones’ court

If Jones allows McCarthy to interview the Bears, that’s a good sign that Jones is moving on. The Cowboys owner and general manager was clear Sunday that he wants people in the building who want to be there, citing how he recently allowed Elliott to seek a playoff opportunity with another team.

If McCarthy has a good feeling he’s not coming back, it makes a lot of sense for him to interview with an NFC North team he’s very familiar with from his time in Green Bay. Although he hasn’t been able to have much playoff success with the Cowboys, McCarthy is a good NFL head coach who could be an excellent stabilizer for a franchise in a tough spot but with a talented young quarterback. – Jon Machota, Cowboys beat writer

Required reading

(Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)