According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the former Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers headman removed himself from the New Orleans Saints head coaching race last night. McCarthy’s intentions will now be on the 2026 head coaching cycle.

NFL season is nearly in the books, with only Super Bowl LIX left to play as the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles square off for the ultimate prize. Most other teams have turned their focus to the offseason,

McCarthy is widely seen as a better head-coaching candidate than Schottenheimer, who had never served as a head coach before this month.

Former #Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has decided to focus on the 2026 hiring cycle and will not coach in the NFL this season, sources tell me and @RapSheet. McCarthy, who has made the playoffs 12 times in 18 seasons, is expected to be a strong candidate a year from now. pic.twitter.com/Vr8mMijIkq

Reports late Tuesday night surfaced that Mike McCarthy is no longer in consideration for the New Orleans Saints head coaching vacancy. McCarthy, 61, had been th

Mike McCarthy isn’t looking for a new job right away. The ex-Cowboys coach won’t be searching for a new head coaching gig until the 2026 hiring cycle.

Mike McCarthy has decided against coaching in 2025, removing himself as a candidate to fill the NFL’s last remaining head coaching vacancy with the New Orleans Saints.

If the Cowboys played things differently, they could have had their all-star coaching staff. | From @ReidDHanson

Mike McCarthy is out of the running for the New Orleans Saints' head coaching job and no longer plans to coach in 2025, ESPN reported late Tuesday. The Dallas Cowboys didn't renew the contract of McCarthy following a 7-10 season in 2024.

McCarthy, whose contract expired with the Cowboys and wasn't signed to an extension, will sit out the 2025 season, according to NFL Media's Tom Pelissero. McCarthy removed his name from consideration for the New Orleans Saints' vacancy. The Saints are the last team to have a head coaching job open this offseason.

We don’t know and never will know how Brian would have fared if his last name was Smith instead of Schottenheimer. And that makes the new Dallas Cowboy football coach a risk.