One thing about the head coach carousel is it’s always hard to predict. There can often be twists and turns people didn’t see coming. It appears another such moment came to pass. After several days of uncertainty, it felt like head coach Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys might be headed towards an extension before he became available on January 14th. Alas, that is no longer happening. Tom Pelissero broke the news that the 61-year-old head coach will hit the market and can begin speaking with teams immediately.
This adds a significant piece to the board that wasn’t there before. Depending on what Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren want to do, it has the potential to impact the Chicago Bears in a myriad of ways.
The Bears hire Mike McCarthy.
This is the most straightforward possibility. Chicago put in a request to interview McCarthy last week but was denied. That was the first clear indication they were interested. It’s not hard to see why. He has lots of coaching experience, which Warren seems to prefer. He also has a long, established track record of maximizing his quarterbacks, which is a big deal for Poles. It looks like he’d be an ideal candidate on paper, to say nothing of his familiarity with the NFC North from his time in Green Bay.
Dallas jumps into the Ben Johnson sweepstakes.
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This one should not be overlooked. The Bears appear to be battling Las Vegas and Jacksonville for the chance to lure the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator to their sidelines. Dallas could be a game-changer. They have the money, prestige, and quarterback necessary to entice Johnson into taking their job. He’d inherit a talented roster that should be able to compete immediately. The only drawback is he would have zero say on personnel matters. Jerry Jones has never and will never relinquish that.
McCarthy impacts two other head coach openings.
This last part doesn’t directly influence the Bears but could have a ripple effect. The other team that is gunning for Mike McCarthy at this early stage is the New Orleans Saints. He spent a few years as an offensive coordinator in the early 2000s. A homecoming would be appealing in some ways. If that happened, it likely means the New York Jets would land Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who they’re reportedly competing with the Saints to get. That leaves the rest of the field to sort out in Chicago, Vegas, Jacksonville, and Dallas.
