Mike McCarthy to the Bears? Here’s why fans shouldn’t dismiss it

LAKE FOREST – Mike McCarthy to the Chicago Bears?

The Bears have an opportunity to set a new foundation with their next head coach. There are ample exciting, young coaching candidates who could bring new ideas and a new identity to Chicago.

So why on Earth would the Bears want to interview McCarthy?

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday that the Bears have requested an interview with the Dallas Cowboys head coach. Monday marked the first day that NFL teams could begin requesting interviews with coaches employed by other teams. General manager Ryan Poles requested interviews with nearly a dozen top assistant coaches.

Many of the names were expected, such as Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, but McCarthy’s addition to the list raised some eyebrows.

McCarthy is undoubtedly qualified for the job. He has 18 years of NFL head coaching experience. He coached the hated Green Bay Packers for 13 years, including a victory in Super Bowl XLV after the 2010 season. He guided the Cowboys to three consecutive 12-win seasons before an injury to quarterback Dak Prescott derailed this season.

The most interesting thing about McCarthy’s candidacy isn’t what’s on his resume. The resume speaks for itself. The most interesting thing about McCarthy is that he’s still employed by the Dallas Cowboys.

McCarthy is in the final year of his contract as head coach of the Cowboys. That contract reportedly expires Jan. 14. Owner Jerry Jones and the Cowboys have until then to negotiate a new deal or McCarthy becomes a free agent.

Rarely do NFL head coaches reach the final year of their contracts. Generally, teams will either fire a coach before it gets to that point or they will extend his contract so there’s never a lame duck coach running the team.

But Jones and the Cowboys don’t operate like other teams. Jones did the exact same thing with former coach Jason Garrett in 2014 before signing Garrett to a five-year extension in January 2015. Jones then let Garrett’s contract run out again in 2019 before he decided not to retain Garrett in January 2020.

Asked about the possibility of McCarthy interviewing with other teams, Jones told Cowboys reporters on Sunday that he’s open to it.

“I would say, ‘Go talk,’” Jones said, according to The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “I really would. Go talk. I just let [running back Ezekiel Elliott] do that. That’s not healthy to have somebody around that wants to be someplace else.”

It sounds like if the Bears want to interview McCarthy, they’ll have the chance.

McCarthy said Sunday that he “absolutely” wants to continue coaching the Cowboys. The Cowboys went 7-10 this season, including 4-5 after Prescott’s season-ending injury.

McCarthy might not be the next up-and-coming offensive coordinator, but he wins football games. He has a 174-112-2 career record in the regular season, plus an 11-11 record in playoff games. He won 10 games or more in 11 of his 18 seasons as an NFL head coach and made 12 playoff appearances. He’s currently 13th on the all-time regular season wins list for NFL head coaches.

He proved he can win in a cold weather city in the NFC North. He has done it at two different stops with two different quarterbacks. If he can put up with Jones for four years, George McCaskey should be a breeze.

Here’s what Bears team president Kevin Warren said he is looking for in a head coach: “We need an individual who has extremely high standards, who is tough, who is demanding, who is bright, who has attention to detail, who seeks and will win championships, who creates an environment of accountability, who’s creative, who’s intelligent, who’s a decisive decision maker, and who will represent the city of Chicago, all of our fans, this franchise, in a manner that is well deserved.”

That might be McCarthy or it might not. Warren promised this search would be “exhaustive.”

If McCarthy is potentially available, the Bears have to reach out. This search would not be an exhaustive search if they didn’t.