The Dallas Cowboys did not take kindly to the Chicago Bears’ interest in free-agent-to-be head coach Mike McCarthy.
On Monday, reports emerged that the Bears had requested to interview McCarthy for their vacant head coaching position. While McCarthy’s current contract with the Cowboys expires on Jan. 14, Dallas maintains exclusive negotiating rights with the 61-year-old coach until then.
The Cowboys on Tuesday denied the Bears permission to interview McCarthy, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
ESPN Source: The Dallas Cowboys denied permission to the Chicago Bears to interview their head coach Mike McCarthy.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 8, 2025
Earlier this month, the Bears were linked to McCarthy as the veteran coach’s backup job should the Cowboys decide to go in a different direction. Another report emerged last week indicating that McCarthy may look into other opportunities even if the Cowboys want him back.
Jones on Sunday was asked about the possibility of McCarthy looking elsewhere. The Cowboys owner said that he’s “fine” with other teams possibly interviewing McCarthy because he “wants to work with people who want to be here.” On the same day, McCarthy said he was planning to meet with Jones “in the near future.”
With all that context in hand, the Cowboys’ denial of the Bears’ interview request seems to hint towards Dallas’ desire to keep McCarthy. At the very least, the team is probably still in talks with the former Super Bowl-winning coach and wants to maintain their exclusive rights until the Jan. 14 date.
The Cowboys probably would have granted McCarthy the freedom to interview with interested teams had they settled on moving on from him.
