The Chicago Bears' head coaching search took an unexpected twist Monday when the Dallas Cowboys and coach Mike McCarthy mutually parted ways after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a new contract.
McCarthy, whose current deal expires Tuesday, immediately jumps to or near the top of the list of Bears head coaching candidates, and Chicago wasted no time scheduling an interview with him. General manager Ryan Poles will meet with McCarthy on Wednesday.
As a result, I decided it'd be fun to gauge how Bears fans feel about the potential of McCarthy becoming the next Bears coach. And, well, the results were overwhelming.
It's fair to say Bears fans don't want Mike McCarthy to be the man in charge. Check it out:
A whopping 81% of fans who voted are opposed to McCarthy despite his impressive winning resume.
McCarthy, 61, coached the Green Bay Packers for 13 seasons and ended his tenure as a cheesehead with a 125-77-2 record, including a Super Bowl victory in 2010. He became the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 and had a similarly successful five-year run for Jerry Jones, finishing with an 84-49 record. His struggles in the playoffs (a 1-3 record) ultimately defined his tenure with the Cowboys, but he did coach the team to three straight 12-win seasons from 2021 to 2023.
Despite all his wins, McCarthy is viewed by some as an underwhelming candidate, as if the Chicago Bears would be settling for a retread rather than swinging for a home run with a young up-and-comer like Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
I get it; Mike McCarthy's been around the block, and it's tough to get excited about a head coach who'd be on his third gig. In some ways, McCarthy would feel awfully similar to when the Bears hired John Fox in 2013. Fox had success with the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos before coming to Chicago, where his coaching career bottomed out.
Still, McCarthy's experience in the NFC North and his role in the development of Aaron Rodgers are checkmarks in his favor. Whether it's enough for the Bears to trust him with the most important phase of Caleb Williams' career is a question that only time will answer.
