FRISCO, Texas — Mike McCarthy will not return as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for the 2025 season after the two sides failed to come to terms on an agreement for a new contract, according to multiple reports.
McCarthy’s contract with the Cowboys expired last Wednesday but both sides have not had any negotiations regarding a new deal.
The Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints are expected to be interested in speaking with McCarthy regarding their coaching vacancies, according to ESPN. Last week, the Bears had an official request for permission to speak with McCarthy denied by the Cowboys.
McCarthy finishes with a 49-35 record in his five seasons as coach, but went 1-3 in the playoffs, including a 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round in 2023.
While McCarthy leaves Dallas, the Cowboys’ problems go way beyond the Head Coach.
Dallas saw key players such as left tackle Tyron Smith, running back Tony Pollard, center Tyler Biadasz and defensive end Dorance Armstrong all depart during the offseason in 2023 but owner/GM Jerry Jones did nothing to replace them.
CeeDee Lamb missed training camp before signing a four-year, $136 million contract while Dak Prescott agreed to a four-year, $240 million contract extension hours before the season opener at Cleveland.
Jones will now begin the search for the ninth head coach of his tenure. However, by stalling for weeks about McCarthy’s future, Dallas is now playing catch up with teams already looking for a new head coach.
“The Dallas Cowboys, with their timing, essentially put themselves at something of a disadvantage and now they’re playing catch-up with the rest of the teams that have openings,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said.
“So essentially they limit themselves there, Mike Vrabel gets the job in New England, Bill Belichick’s in North Carolina… so there are any number of coaching candidates that by the timing of the Dallas decision, the Cowboys could not consider or could not speak with.”
