SI

Saints Insider Believes Mike McCarthy Had Interest in Interviewing For Head Coach Job

The former Dallas head coach withdrew from consideration on Tuesday night.

Brigid Kennedy

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy on Dec 29, 2024.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy on Dec 29, 2024. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
In this story:

New Orleans Saints insider Nick Underhill believes ex-Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was actually interested in interviewing for the team's vacant head coaching position, despite dropping out of the running last night.

The Saints haven't had the best luck in filling the opening, which has led to jokes that no one really wants the job in the first place. McCarthy's premature, pre-meeting exit then added some fuel to that fire.

But Underhill is saying he thinks McCarthy did want to interview, but he got the sense the Saints weren't going to go with him, anyway.

"Saw last night Mike McCarthy dropped out of it. You know, in the way we've been talking about that and covering it, it just kind of felt like there was a lot more interest from Mike than the Saints had in him," Underhill says, speaking from the sidelines of the Senior Bowl.

"It felt like he really wanted to get down here and interview, and it feels like the Saints had their sights set on someone or something else, and I think him dropping out is just indicative of the level of attention there. I think he probably got a feel for it going somewhere else and decided to drop out of the race."

With McCarthy out of the running, Underhill bets the team is eyeing Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, toward whom Fox Sports' Peter Schrager also believes "all signs point." Underhill qualifies that he is "just reading the tea leaves," and not reporting anything official, but Moore does fit the profile of the team's desired candidate.

"It'd be an interesting choice," Underhill says of Moore. "No connection to the Saints, totally new thought process, guy playing in the Super Bowl, has that Philly offense looking really good right now ... it just kind of feels like that's the direction things are going right now."

Otherwise, ESPN reported Tuesday evening that the remaining candidates are believed to be New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, who, like Moore, both had second, in-person interviews with the team. The Saints reportedly have no plans to interview anyone else.

If Moore is ultimately the guy for the Big Easy, New Orleans will have to wait until after the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 to make it official. Stay tuned.

More of the Latest Around the NFL

Published
Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.

Home/NFL