The Chicago Bears are on the hunt for their next head coach following a 5-12 finish to the 2024 NFL regular season.
The Bears fired now-former head coach Matt Eberflus after a 4-8 start to the Bears' 2024 campaign. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown was then elevated to interim HC, where he finished out the year with a 1-4 record.
The Bears have requested to interview several coaching options, including Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
On Tuesday, Jerry Jones and the Cowboys franchise denied the Bears' request, per ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.
This decision could indicate that the Cowboys plan to retain McCarthy as their head coach moving forward, despite an overwhelmingly disappointing 2024 season.
"The Dallas Cowboys denied permission to the Chicago Bears to interview their head coach Mike McCarthy," Shefter reported on Tuesday evening.
The Cowboys' decision to deny the Bears' interview request aligns with some postgame comments made by Jones after the team's Week 18 loss to the division-rival Washington Commanders.
"Mike [McCarthy] is one of the best coaches that I think there is," Jones said on Sunday. "He was made the coach here because I thought that. He's done absolutely nothing to diminish my opinion of him as a coach, and I'm really impressed with the way the players identify and are inside with him. That's important because he's had some times when each of those players individually as well as a team have not been fun times. He's been there for them."
McCarthy is 49-35 since taking over as the Cowboys' head coach before the 2020 season. Over those five seasons at the helm, Dallas has made it past the wild card round on just one occasion.
The Bears can still interview McCarthy after his exclusive negotiating window with Dallas expires on Jan. 14.
