Former Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy has met multiple times with an NFL team Dallas will face in 2026
The Dallas Cowboys could see a familiar face in 2026 if this candidate pulls off the upset in an AFC foe’s coaching search.
While the Dallas Cowboys continue their search for a defensive coordinator, a familiar face has met multiple times with an NFL team looking for a new head coach: Mike McCarthy.
And if the former Cowboys head coach lands the job, he could find himself facing Dallas at AT&T Stadium. Here’s the latest surrounding McCarthy, including reporting from our very own insider Easton Freeze at A to Z Sports Nashville.
Mike McCarthy emerges as a de-facto finalist for Titans
Heading into last weekend, it was publicly known McCarthy would interview for the Tennessee Titans head coaching job. However, the details reported by Freeze reveal the Titans’ interest in the Super Bowl-winning head coach is very real.
According to Freeze, McCarthy’s meeting with the Titans for their head coaching job was his second meeting with the team, not his first, and that the interview spanned multiple days.
“A source tells A to Z Sports that Mike McCarthy got dinner with Titans brass Friday night and is now spending the full day Saturday meeting with the folks at St. Thomas Sports Park. Friday’s dinner wasn’t his first meeting with Titans leadership in this process, though,” Freeze wrote.
“As it turns out, Titans GM Mike Borgonzi and president of football operations Chad Brinker actually met with McCarthy very early on in this process,” he added. That in-person meeting went very well.”
Is McCarthy a finalist?
Not technically, according to the Titans’ definition of a finalist. Though McCarthy has met with the Titans multiple times, only one of them has been a formal interview. The Titans’ three finalists set for in-person interviews are Robert Saleh (San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator), Matt Nagy (Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator), and Jeff Hafley (Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator).
However, McCarthy isn’t ruled out just yet, as his weekend visit with the team suggests.
“While he isn’t out of the picture, he appears to be no better than a third place option heading into Monday,” wrote Freeze.
Titans visit Cowboys in 2026
If McCarthy pulls off the upset over the rest of the Titans’ candidates, he would be in line for a revenge game against the Cowboys in 2026. Last year, both sides parted ways after they failed to agree on contract length, leading to the hiring of Brian Schottenheimer as head coach.
McCarthy is also a candidate for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ job.
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