The NFL, for all of its innovations, has continually done the opposite when it comes to hiring head coaches.
Mostly by going back to the same old retreads when it comes to those hires and giving chances to coaches who have already flamed out in multiple places.
That’s why it should probably come as no surprise to see former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy’s name pop up as the 2026 hiring cycle starts to unfold — a process kicked off when the Tennessee Titans fired head coach Brian Callahan after a 1-5 start to the 2025 regular season.
Bleacher Report’s Andrew Peters put McCarthy as one of his “Top Options” for the Titans opening.
McCarthy coached the Cowboys from 2020 to 2024, going 49-35 overall.
He made the playoffs 3 out of 5 seasons and went 1-3 in the postseason. He previously coached the Green Bay Packers from 2006 to 2018, winning the Super Bowl following the 2010 season.
“Though Mike McCarthy isn’t quite as exciting as some of the young, up-and-coming names on the list, he’s a proven winner with decades of experience, and that might be exactly what the Titans need at this point,” Peters wrote on October 15. ” … Tennessee just drafted Cam Ward first overall and is hoping he will be the player who turns the franchise around. Having McCarthy in the building could be perfect for the young talent.”
McCarthy Has History of QB Nurturing
It’s hard to argue with McCarthy’s success with quarterbacks.
Future Pro Football Hall of Famer and current Pittsburgh Steelers starter Aaron Rodgers was the quarterback for the Packers all 13 seasons McCarthy was the head coach and was a 2-time NFL MVP in that time as well as a Super Bowl MVP.
In Dallas, Dak Prescott was the starting quarterback all 5 seasons McCarthy was there and McCarthy’s only 2 losing seasons — in 2020 and 2024 — were both years where Prescott suffered a season ending injury.
In 2023, Prescott had his best pro season to date and finished as runner-up to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in NFL MVP voting. He was also named NFL All-Pro for the first time.
McCarthy’s history of working with elite quarterbacks and those quarterbacks thriving goes beyond just his time as a head coach.
When he was quarterbacks coach for the Chiefs from 1995 to 1998, their quarterbacks threw the least amount of interceptions in the NFL. He spent 2 seasons before that on the Chiefs working as an offensive quality control coach while Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana played there.
When McCarthy was quarterbacks coach for the Packers in 1999, Brett Favre finished fourth in the NFL with 4,091 passing yards.
McCarthy’s Time in Dallas Ended … Weirdly
Only in the NFL would someone actually finishing out a contract would we think it was odd, but that’s what happened with McCarthy, who was not retained after a 7-10 record in 2024 — but not fired, either.
“Prior to reaching the point of contract negotiations … it became mutually clear that it would be better for each of us to head in a different direction,” Cowboys owner and Team President Jerry Jones said in a press release.
McCarthy was replaced with his special teams coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer. The Cowboys are 2-3-1 through the first 6 games of the 2025 regular season.
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