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Weeks after being unable to come to a contract agreement with the Cowboys, Mike McCarthy has decided he will not coach in the NFL in 2025 and will instead focus on the 2026 hiring cycle, per NFL Network.
McCarthy, 61, coached the Cowboys from 2020-24, accumulating a 49-35 record that tied for the NFL’s eighth-best winning percentage over that span. After a 6-10 debut season, McCarthy guided Dallas to three consecutive 12-5 campaigns, though he won just one playoff game during that run.
In 2024, Dallas went 7-10, with injuries to quarterback Dak Prescott and others, one of the league’s worst running games and a struggling defense following defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s departure to Washington plaguing the team.
McCarthy was not fired by the Cowboys. Rather, his contract expired Jan. 14. One day before that, team owner and general manager Jerry Jones announced the two sides could not come to an agreement. As such, McCarthy was considerably behind the eight ball in the coaching interview process with other teams.
The Cowboys subsequently hired internally, promoting offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to head coach last week.
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McCarthy interviewed with the Bears before they hired Ben Johnson last week. McCarthy also had an interview request from the Saints, but that interview reportedly never occurred before McCarthy decided to step away from the hiring cycle. As of Tuesday night, the Saints have the only head-coaching vacancy remaining. The other six openings this offseason have been filled.
Prior to his time in Dallas, McCarthy was the coach of the Packers from 2006-18, accumulating a 125-77-2 record and a Super Bowl XLV win over the Steelers in the 2011 season. Overall, McCarthy has made the playoffs in 12 of his 18 seasons as a head coach. His 174 career regular-season wins are 13th all-time and third among active coaches, behind only the Chiefs’ Andy Reid (273) and the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin (183).
