It is hard to believe that the Dallas Cowboys have one game left in the 2024 regular season and a decision has not been made on head coach Mike McCarthy.
The Cowboys made a polarizing choice last year to retain McCarthy after they crashed out of the playoffs in the Wild Card Round following a 12-win champaign.
Regardless of the outcome of Sunday's finale against Washington, Dallas will finish with a record below .500. That is far from what McCarthy envisioned in the final year of his contract. It is worth noting, though, that the injury bug sucked the life out of the season. The year also seemed doomed as early as July thanks to the front office's penny-pinching offseason.
McCarthy was not set up to succeed in 2024. Because of that, we can't say with absolute certainty that he wants to return. That is contingent on him having the opportunity to coach elsewhere.
Well, not only will the 61-year-old have options, there is one team in particular that has emerged as the favorite to secure his services.
NFL rumors: Mike McCarthy could join the Bears if he leaves Cowboys
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler (subscription required), the Chicago Bears could pique McCarthy's interest if Dallas doesn't renew his contract.
"Pete Carroll might not be the only Super Bowl-winning coach vying for the Bars job," writes Fowler. "I've talked to multiple people who believe McCarthy -- should he leave Dallas -- could set his sights on Chicago. He would give the Bears much-needed experience and offensive acumen.
"Despite his rocky tenure in Dallas, McCarthy would stack up well if parachuting into this candidate pool and provide leadership. He turned 61 in November but seems to have the energy for the job. He's quite familiar with NFC North football, too ..."
That would be quite the turn of events. As of this writing, the Bears are far and away the most attractive of the current job openings. The Jets and Saints are the other two. Of course, that number could climb as high as eight by this time next week. In addition to Dallas, the Jaguars, Patriots, Raiders, Colts and Giants could all move on from their current head coaches.
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2024 No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams is obviously the main attraction in Chicago. While Williams has had a turbulent rookie year, McCarthy has historically got the best out of his quarterbacks. Dak Prescott had the best season of his career in 2023 in McCarthy's first year calling plays for Dallas.
Beyond that, the Bears sorely need a culture-changer. Despite what the national media says about McCarthy, he absolutely fills that bill. The 61-year-old brought consistency to the Cowboys after the rollercoaster Jason Garrett era. While he only has one playoff win in five years, he led Dallas to three straight 12 win seasons for the first time since the 1990s.
The Bears seemingly have their sights set on Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, whom is ironically Cowboys fans' top pick to replace McCarthy, but Chicago's braintrust may prefer experience and leadership to fix what is clearly a fractured locker room.