The Chicago Bears beat the New Orleans Saints to the punch in scheduling a sit-down with former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports the Bears will interview McCarthy for their vacant head coach position on Wednesday, with his peer Ian Rapoport adding that the Saints plan on speaking with McCarthy themselves next week.
“No firm date established, but that is the plan,” Rapoport says. Multiple teams are said to be in the mix for the 61-year old coach once his Cowboys contract formally expires at midnight Tuesday.
His career record nearly matches Sean Payton’s. Both of them were hired as head coaches way back in 2006, with Payton posting a career winning percentage of .618 (170-105-0) to McCarthy’s .608 (174-112-2), each of them winning a Super Bowl along the way.
McCarthy has a lot of ties to the Saints, and he’s widely seen as a frontrunner for the job — if the Bears don’t hire him first. He called plays as New Orleans’ offensive coordinator from 2000 to 2004. One of the people who hired him for that job, former Saints general manager Randy Mueller, is consulting the team on their current head coach search. Some Saints fans have turned up their noses at a retread like McCarthy, but beggars can’t be choosers, and his resume speaks for itself.