Cowboys and coach Mike McCarthy part ways, creating another NFL vacancy

Another team is looking for a head coach — and there’s a new potential candidate for the Bears to talk to.

The Cowboys said Monday they would not bring back head coach Mike McCarthy, whose exclusive negotiating window was set to expire on Tuesday night. That means the Cowboys will join the Bears, Jets, Saints, Jaguars and Raiders in looking for a new head coach. The Patriots hired Mike Vrabel on Sunday.

The Bears will be interested in McCarthy; last week, they asked permission to speak with him, which was denied by the Cowboys.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement that it became "mutually clear" the two sides should part "prior to reaching the point of contract negotiations."

The Cowboys missed out on a window to interview candidates whose teams had a Round 1 bye, meaning they can't speak to Lions coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn or Chiefs coordinators Matt Nagy and Steve Spagnuolo until after they lose. The Bears interviewed the two Lions coaches virtually, which allows them to speak with them during the bye before the Super Bowl should the Lions advance that far.

McCarthy won Super Bowl XLV with the Packers and has a street named after him in the Green Bay area. It’s unclear if that would be a deal-breaker for chairman George McCaskey, who so despises the Bears’ rivals that he said “Go Birds!” at the end of his otherwise serious press conference last week. The Eagles beat the Packers on Sunday to knock them out of the playoffs.

McCarthy went 125-77-2 in 13 seasons with the Packers before being fired in the middle of the 2018 season. He joined the Cowboys in 2020 and went 49-35. The Cowboys ranked first in the NFL in points during his four seasons and fourth once. They reached the playoffs three times in his five seasons.

McCarthy, who called plays for the Cowboys last year, has an offensive pedigree that appeals to the Bears. Quarterback Caleb Williams grew up idolizing Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who teamed with McCarthy to win the Super Bowl.