A major domino fell in the New Orleans Saints head coach search on Tuesday evening, when former Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy chose to pull himself out of the sweepstakes. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapaport share that McCarthy will instead sit out the 2025 season, and focus on a return to coaching in 2026.
This is big news for the Saints, who flew cross-country to sit down with Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore after previously meeting in person with several other candidates. McCarthy was the last name on their current list but he’ll wait to see if he can find a warmer reception in the next cycle.
McCarthy was widely expected to be a front runner when he became available given his history with the Saints; he was the team’s offensive coordinator when Mickey Loomis took over as general manager, having replaced his predecessor Randy Mueller. Mueller returned to the team late last year and was consulting in this year’s search. But by all accounts McCarthy received a more lukewarm reaction from the Saints than expected, which likely played into this decision.
