Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is not perfect by any means. Yet the fact remains that he has led the youngest team in the NFL to the postseason two years in a row. Indeed, this year’s Packers team is the second-youngest ever to make it to the NFL Playoffs. The only team younger was last year’s Green Bay team that snuck into the postseason as the seventh seed.
It was that team that also upset the second-seeded Dallas Cowboys, who are, of course, led by former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. It was Green Bay’s improbable blowout win over Dallas that may have played a big contributing factor of their former coach not getting a contract extension last offseason.
Indeed, McCarthy’s seat as the Cowboys head coach has been rumored to be blazing hot for quite some time.
Former Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy Faced Many Challenges with the Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys were only 6-10 in 2020, McCarthy’s first year as head coach. However, that was also the year in which their starting quarterback, Dak Prescott, suffered a severe ankle injury and missed 11 games.
Dallas, though, won 12 games in each of the next three seasons, making the playoffs each time. However, McCarthy and his team failed to get out of the first round in two out of these three seasons. Green Bay’s blowout win on the road in Dallas in the Wild Card Round last year dropped his postseason record with the Cowboys to just 1-3.
Prior to the 2024 NFL season, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones opted not to give McCarthy a contract extension despite the fact that he was entering the final year of his original deal. This made the former Packers head coach a lame duck in 2024, a coach whose future is uncertain.
Unfortunately for McCarthy, Jones also did not go out and get him a very good roster of players, opting to sign Ezekiel Elliott over Derrick Henry, for example. Additionally, Prescott got hurt again and missed nine games.
Dallas finished this season 7-10, with many expecting them to part ways with McCarthy soon.
The Dallas Cowboys Denied the Chicago Bears Permission to Talk to Mike McCarthy
Yesterday, it was reported that the Chicago Bears, who fired Matt Eberflus midseason, were interested in interviewing McCarthy for their vacant head coaching job. Despite the fact that the Cowboys are not in the postseason, the former Packers coach is off limits to other teams until January 14 unless they get permission from Dallas to speak to him.
And today, the Cowboys denied their request:
ESPN Source: The Dallas Cowboys denied permission to the Chicago Bears to interview their head coach Mike McCarthy.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 8, 2025
Jon Machota, who covers the Cowboys for The Athletic, wrote of this development, “This appears to be a sign that Jerry Jones has real interest in keeping Mike McCarthy as Cowboys head coach.”
After the news that the Bears had been denied permission to interview McCarthy, Dan Graziano of ESPN reported that they plan on interview former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll on Thursday.
More Green Bay Packers News from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
- Former Packers QB Fired; Loses HC Job Right Before Start of 2024-25 NFL Playoffs
- “I Promise I Can Play;” Packers Have Former Starter Asking for Another Shot Before Playoff Run
- “This Is Notable;” Eagles Announce Major Roster Update Ahead of Playoff Matchup with Packers
- Former Green Bay Packers WR Signs Futures Deal with the Chicago Bears
- “Someone Familiar;” Packers GM Brian Gutekunst Makes Major Free Agency Statement Before NFL Playoffs
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