Mike McCarthy to meet with HC-needy NFC South squad

Although the Saints are not conducting the wide-ranging search the Bears and Jets are, they are still expected to expand their candidate pool. The Cowboys’ decision not to renew Mike McCarthy‘s contract will affect multiple HC-needy teams during this cycle.

McCarthy is expected to meet with the Saints next week about their HC vacancy, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. This interview will occur several days after McCarthy’s Bears summit, scheduled for Wednesday. McCarthy and the Saints have not yet settled on an interview date, but a meeting is on tap.

This meeting came after a report that the Saints were monitoring McCarthy’s Cowboys situation. While Aaron Glenn is considered a strong candidate to return to Louisiana, McCarthy is now officially in that mix. The 61-year-old coach also has ties to the Saints, having been their OC from 2000-04. GM Mickey Loomis, the second-longest-tenured pure GM in NFL history, began his Saints run during McCarthy’s time in New Orleans.

It says a lot about McCarthy’s credentials (and perhaps this year’s tepid HC market) that he has long remained on the HC radar. The Packers first hired him in 2006, and he lasted 13 seasons. After winning Super Bowl XLV with Green Bay, McCarthy became known for postseason letdowns. His five-year Cowboys HC stay extended that franchise’s NFC championship game drought, with Jerry Jones citing a 2023 wild-card upset against the Packers as a central reason why his contract was never extended. That said, McCarthy led the Cowboys to three straight 12-win seasons. While the NFL’s expansion to 17 games helped here, the Cowboys had not won 12 games in three consecutive years since the mid-1990s.

Contract length became the main sticking point for the Cowboys and McCarthy. Considering Jones’ reluctance to authorize a new deal for McCarthy in 2024, thus making him the rare (for non-Cowboys teams, that is) lame-duck HC, it would have been surprising if Dallas was willing to offer a long-term deal after a seven-win season. McCarthy also carried unusual leverage late in his Cowboys tenure due to outside interest, and two NFC teams will capitalize on his newfound coaching free agency by interviewing him. The Bears had attempted to schedule a McCarthy interview while he was still under the Cowboys' contract. The NFC East team nixed that meeting, but proper negotiations never happened, and the Cowboys ultimately moved on.

No Saints interview request came during McCarthy’s final days on his Cowboys contract. The NFC South team has not been connected to nearly as many names, and a recent report indicated the team is not likely to expand its list. However, McCarthy and Kliff Kingsbury are now part of it. Loomis said adding more names is “possible,” via ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell.

The early-2000s Saints stint marked McCarthy’s first OC job and started well. Despite losing starter Jeff Blake to injury during the 2000 season, the Saints rallied to the playoffs behind second-year QB Aaron Brooks. The team then notched its elusive first playoff win over the defending champion Rams. New Orleans, however, did not make the playoffs again during Jim Haslett‘s tenure. The Saints still ranked in the top 14 offensively in each McCarthy season. By 2005, McCarthy was in San Francisco as 49ers OC. The Loomis connection remains, thanks to the GM now going into his 24th season at the controls in New Orleans.

Via PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker, here is how the Saints’ HC search looks as of Tuesday afternoon:

• Joe Brady, offensive coordinator (Bills): To interview
• Aaron Glenn, defensive coordinator (Lions): Interviewed 1/10; early frontrunner?
• Mike Kafka, offensive coordinator (Giants): Interviewed 1/9
• Kliff Kingsbury, offensive coordinator (Commanders): To interview
• Mike McCarthy, head coach (Cowboys): To interview
• Kellen Moore, offensive coordinator (Eagles): To interview
• Matt Nagy, offensive coordinator (Chiefs): Mentioned as candidate
• Darren Rizzi, interim head coach (Saints): Interviewed 1/11
• Mike Vrabel, former head coach (Titans): Interview being arranged; hired by Patriots
• Anthony Weaver, defensive coordinator (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/8