Report: Bears denied interview with McCarthy, plan to meet Carroll

The Dallas Cowboys denied the Chicago Bears permission to interview Mike McCarthy for their head coaching vacancy, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

McCarthy's contract is scheduled to expire Jan. 14, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has yet to announce if the veteran coach will be back. Chicago requested to speak with him Monday.

Jones said Sunday he would be open to granting McCarthy permission to speak to other teams, but doing so would likely end any chance of the coach returning to Dallas.

McCarthy was seemingly on the hot seat midway through the season after Dallas lost five straight games. However, the Cowboys then won four of five. They finished the 2024 campaign 7-10 after losing quarterback Dak Prescott to a season-ending hamstring injury in early November.

The Bears have requested permission to speak with several head coaching candidates. They plan to speak with former Seattle Seahawks sideline boss Pete Carroll, sources told Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

Carroll, 73, didn't coach in 2024 after being fired by Seattle in '23. He posted a 137-89-1 record from 2010-23 and helped the Seahawks win their first-ever Super Bowl.

The Bears have been looking for a new head coach since firing Matt Eberflus in November. Chicago has also shown interested in former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel and Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, among others.