If I had $1 for every time I was asked to make sense of the Chicago Bears’ interest in Mike McCarthy as their next head coach, I’d have enough for a couple of Italian beef sandwiches (dipped, sweet and hot peppers, with fries and a drink) and a cold, frosty Old Style (but only if you’re 21+ up, of course).
The Bears are reportedly putting on a full-court press and rolling out the red carpet for former Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers coach, who is scheduled to meet with the team on Wednesday at Halas Hall. BearsWire’s Brendan Sugrue shares words from ESPN’s Marc Silverman, who says the Bears will “wine and dine” the Super Bowl XLV-winning head coach. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for those discussions. I wonder how George McCaskey feels about potentially handing the keys of his team to a former Packers Super Bowl-winning coach. Think it might be awkward?
I haven’t lost sleep thinking about the possibility of Mike McCarthy being the Bears’ next head coach. But judging by the comments, concerns, quote tweets, and replies left by fans, there are some who clearly aren’t grasping why the Bears are seemingly all-in on McCarthy as a top candidate. Hence, I will try to make sense of the nonsense by hashing out some pros and cons and getting into the brains of the powers that be at Halas Hall.
Pros, cons, questions, and concerns about Mike McCarthy as the next Bears coach
PROS
Mike McCarthy’s résumé is undeniably good. An overall record of 174-112-2 is nothing to sneeze at when you’re looking at the profile of a coach with 18 years of NFL experience. A chunk of McCarthy’s success came while he was with the Packers. Bears fans know this story all too well. McCarthy kept Brett Favre playing at a high level and aided in the ascent of Aaron Rodgers as Green Bay collected eight 10+ win seasons, made the playoffs nine times, and won a Super Bowl — at the expense of a Bears team that was the No. 1 seed that season but ultimately fell short in the NFC Championship Game.
Had Mike McCarthy floundered in Dallas, his name probably wouldn’t be coming up in discussion. But McCarthy led the Cowboys to a 49-35 record during his five-year stint, which includes three 12-win seasons and a trifecta of playoff berths. Unfortunately, for McCarthy, those years ended in postseason disappointment. The Cowboys won just one playoff game and lost three times. That franchise’s perennial postseason disappointment is the stuff of legendary memes at this point.

One subtle thing Mike McCarthy has going in his favor is his work experience under Jerry Jones as an owner and general manager. To get three 12-win seasons while working for the human embodiment of Sheev Palpatine feels like an accomplishment of sorts. Not every Cowboys coach has been able to handle the Jerry Jones experience. That McCarthy was able to do so is the type of thing that would make me feel good about the Bears (whose upper management situation is far from enviable) bringing him in as a head coach. Because if you can make it in Dallas, why wouldn’t you be able to make it anywhere else?
The biggest, and perhaps most important, thing Mike McCarthy has going for him is a history of quarterback development and success on the offensive side of the ball. This post from The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain grabbed my attention:
With Mike McCarthy available — and very much an option for the Bears — worth noting that the 2021-23 Cowboys ranked first, fourth and first again in scoring. The Bears haven’t been top 5 in scoring in back-to-back seasons since 1961-62, when there were only 14 teams.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain.bsky.social) January 13, 2025 at 11:26 AM
In the end, hiring Mike McCarthy would be an investment in quarterback Caleb Williams and bolster the offensive side of the football in an era where the league has opened every possible door for teams to score more. It is about damn time the Bears actually walk through that door with a coach who knows how to run an offense and has coached at a high level before.
CONS, QUESTIONS, AND CONCERNS
One of the biggest (and most understandable) concerns is that hiring Mike McCarthy would be to 2025 what hiring John Fox was to the Bears in 2015. When the Bears hired Fox, they brought him in to tighten things up and get a franchise back on track after being derailed by two years of Marc Trestman being in over his head as a head coach. If the Bears were to hire McCarthy, the perception would be that they are repeating history by bringing in a long-in-the-tooth head coach to clean up the mess left behind by a coach who simply didn’t have what it takes to be a head coach at the NFL level.
How Mike McCarthy staffs his assistants would be my primary concern. A head coach is often only as good as the assistants he has around him. Back in December, it was reported that Bears management *DOES* have the authority to spend big on a new head coach and their staff. I have a feeling that will be something that a good candidate values, especially if McCarthy can bring in an innovative offensive coordinator to help elevate his scheme. After all, there is no salary cap on coaches. Plus, I feel as if getting the green light to pay top-flight assistants is something that could elevate the Bears’ organization. Welcome to the 21st century, gents.
On the field, my biggest question might be Mike McCarthy’s shelf life. Bears fans knew when it was over for McCarthy in Green Bay. And while it took some time for the Packers to figure it out, they did — and they hired a better coach to replace him. A five-year run with the Cowboys isn’t something to gloss over. To make it that far with Jerry Jones looking over your shoulder is an accomplishment in its own right. But it feels like a yellow flag that Dallas didn’t work harder to bring him back. Is this one of those situations where the Cowboys are thinking that it is better to get out too early than too late?
IN THE END
When Matt Eberflus was fired on the Friday after Thanksgiving, there was no way that I would have envisioned us discussing Mike McCarthy as a serious candidate in mid-January. And it would’ve been deemed impossible to imagine hashing out a pros and cons post weighing McCarthy’s candidacy. But the reality is that Mike McCarthy looks like the type of coach the Bears want to move forward with, especially if Ben Johnson isn’t an option. Whether it comes to fruition or not remains to be seen. Stay tuned.
Mike McCarthy isn’t my preferred candidate. And while I think the Bears could do better than hire McCarthy, I know they can do worse.