McCarthy was a candidate when the Jets had an opening in 2019.
The Dallas Cowboys and head coach Mike McCarthy are parting ways after five seasons. The long-time NFL head coach is now a free agent. It doesn’t, however, sound like he will be a candidate for the Jets as they search for a new head coach.
FWIW: I would not expect the Jets to pursue Mike McCarthy.
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) January 13, 2025
Well that’s interesting…
ESPN’s Rich Cimini did some reporting & he believes Mike McCarthy ‘would be interested in talking to the #Jets. I think the idea of reuniting with [Aaron] Rodgers would intrigue him.’
‘I do not believe the Jets have the same interest.’
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) January 14, 2025
McCarthy was the head coach of the Packers from 2006 through 2018. Rodgers was on the roster that entire time and was Green Bay’s starting quarterback from 2008 on. It’s difficult to conceive of an argument for the Jets to keep Rodgers with or without McCarthy. If Rodgers returning for 2025 is a precondition for McCarthy, the Jets shouldn’t consider him.
Still, it is somewhat surprising to hear that the Jets won’t even speak with McCarthy. The team has now interviewed nine candidates for its head coaching position, and more interviews are to come.
During this process the Jets have deemed the following candidates worthy of an interview:
- Mike Locksley, who has never coached at any point in the NFL and has never finished higher than fourth in his conference standings in nine years as a college head coach.
- Rex Ryan, who hasn’t coached in any capacity in eight years and whose last trip to the Playoffs was the same as the Jets’ last trip to the Playoffs.
- Matt Nagy and Arthur Smith, retread candidates who failed in their first stops.
McCarthy certainly isn’t perfect. There are legitimate questions about his offense being out of date and how much of his success is due to being handed extremely talented rosters. Any desire to bring Rodgers back should be a nonstarter.
Still it’s tough to see how these other guys are worthy of an interview while an eighteen year NFL head coach who has won over 60 percent of his games and has a Super Bowl ring is not.