Mike McCarthy Could Be Considered for Another NFL Opening If Cowboys Let Him Go

McCarthy's job status with Dallas remains up in the air.

Dec 15, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy walks off the field after the game at Bank of America Stadium. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Mike McCarthy's job status with the Dallas Cowboys remains up in the air. The coach's contract is set to expire at the season's end, and with the Cowboys eliminated from playoff contention, there's no guarantee that Jerry Jones opts to bring him back on a second deal.

If McCarthy's time in Dallas is over, he may have other NFL options, however. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer notes McCarthy's connections to the New Orleans Saints could position him to be a candidate for that opening.

"Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is a name to consider in New Orleans, with his contract up in Dallas," Breer writes. "Familiarity will be a factor for the Saints (which positions Lions DC Aaron Glenn well there) too, and that’s another box McCarthy checks. He was together with GM Mickey Loomis over Loomis’s first five years in New Orleans, when McCarthy was Jim Haslett’s offensive coordinator there. Also worth noting is that McCarthy recently hired agent Don Yee, who represents ex-Saints coach Sean Payton."

McCarthy led the Saints offense from 2000 to '04, leaving for the same job with the San Francisco 49ers for one season before landing the Green Bay Packers head coaching job.

After New Orleans bottomed out under Dennis Allen, the defensive coordinator-turned-head coach who was fired after a 2–7 start in '24, going with a veteran offense-minded coach like McCarthy makes some sense, although his five-year stint with the Cowboys has been largely underwhelming. Dallas posted three consecutive 12–5 records from 2021 to '23, it has managed just a single playoff win during McCarthy's tenure.

Even so, Jones has been quick to defend McCarthy and may still bring him back for 2025 and beyond, so the Saints' potential interest may be moot.

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