Mike McCarthy makes decision for the 2025 season

The New Orleans Saints are the final remaining team to have a head coaching vacancy, and they know at least one name that won't be on their sideline in 2025. Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy removed his name from consideration and will be focusing on the 2026 head coaching cycle, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

McCarthy should be a strong candidate for a head coaching job next year, but with Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore emerging as the favorite to land the Saints job, McCarthy decided he'd pull his name.

Former #Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has decided to focus on the 2026 hiring cycle and will not coach in the NFL this season, sources tell me and @RapSheet.

McCarthy, who has made the playoffs 12 times in 18 seasons, is expected to be a strong candidate a year from now. pic.twitter.com/Vr8mMijIkq
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 29, 2025

During his 18 seasons as a head coach in the league -- 13 with the Green Bay Packers and five with the Dallas Cowboys -- McCarthy has a 174-112-2 record. He won Super Bowl 45 with the Packers and has made 12 playoff appearances as a head coach. Despite his regular season success, McCarthy was criticized for never being able to get back to the Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers during his time in Green Bay, and for never making the NFC Championship with the Cowboys.

McCarthy had interviewed with the Chicago Bears before they hired Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and with the Saints before pulling his name from consideration. After the Cowboys wrapped up their 2024 season, failing to make it back to the playoffs, McCarthy pleaded his case to remain with Dallas.

"I don't like to talk about myself that way, but I'll just be clear: I'm a winner. I know how to win. I've won a championship. I won a championship in this building," McCarthy said. "And that's who I am. We'll see where it goes."

Ultimately, Dallas decided to move on without McCarthy, hiring offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. McCarthy has taken a year off before, 2019, in between his time in Green Bay and Dallas and 2025 is shaping up to be a repeat. We'll see if 2026 brings him his third head coaching job in the NFL.