Sources: McCarthy getting overtures for HC jobs
Former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, who was fired earlier this month, already is receiving overtures from NFL teams considering head-coaching changes, league sources told ESPN.
But it is uncertain at this point whether McCarthy will immediately return to the head-coaching ranks, according to sources. He still has one year remaining on his contract with the Packers, and unless he finds the right fit, he could decide to take a year off before exploring the job market again at this time next year.
But McCarthy is expected to draw interest and potential offers — possibly, according to sources, even from his former Green Bay colleagues John Dorsey, Alonzo Highsmith and Eliot Wolf, who now run the Cleveland Browns‘ front office.
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Aaron Rodgers says he will play Sunday against the Jets and cited how important it is for him as a leader to be on the field, even though his team is out of the playoff chase.
Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam have strong voices within the Cleveland organization, and they are said to be determined to hand off their search to Dorsey and staff. But some sources still believe the Haslams will be intimately involved in any head coaching search.
Some Packers assistant coaches thought last year that McCarthy might land in Arizona in the Cardinals’ vacant job, according to sources. McCarthy was fired on Dec. 2, just hours after the Packers lost in stunning fashion at home to the lowly Cardinals.
McCarthy was 125-77-2 in 13 seasons, plus 10-8 in the postseason. He coached the Packers to a victory in Super Bowl XLV after the 2010 season, but Green Bay also lost in three NFC Championship Games under McCarthy, most recently in 2016.
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky contributed to this report.