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The Chicago Bears have reportedly requested permission to interview Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Adam Schefter and Todd Archer on Monday (January 6).
"Chicago Bears have sought permission to interview Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy and are awaiting a response from Dallas, sources tell me and @toddarcher. If the Cowboys don’t allow permission this week, the Bears could interview McCarthy after his exclusive negotiating window with Dallas expires Jan. 14," Schefter wrote on his X account. "Cowboys have yet to respond to the Bears’ interview request for Mike McCarthy. It poses an interesting dilemma: allow your head coach to talk to another team or block him to keep him with your franchise."
McCarthy led the Cowboys to a 7-10 record in 2024, missing the playoffs for the first time since his first season with the franchise in 2020. In November, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones downplayed questions of McCarthy having potentially lost the team after falling to 3-7, prior to winning four of their last seven games.
"That losing the team stuff, that's so overblown," Jones said on November 18 after the game via ESPN. "These guys are so, first of all, they're natural competitors. Secondly, they're so proud of the fact that they are professional and disappointed in maybe the way they executed the play, but that's not anything that's brother or first cousin to give up. ... Everybody's certainly disappointed, but that's a big difference in not knowing that you got to put the foot in front of the other to go."
McCarthy, 61, won Super Bowl XLV with the Green Bay Packers and has a 19-7 lifetime coaching record against the Bears. Chicago has reportedly also requested permission to interview Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for their head coaching vacancy.