FRISCO – Whatever happened to that “bidding-war” market for free-agent coach Mike McCarthy? Former Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy had stated his preference; he wanted to work with the Jones family in a way that got the lame-duck boss a contract extension.. “Yeah, I hope so,” McCarthy said after the season when asked about whether he might stay in Dallas. “I hope so, to be honest with you.” But he and Jerry Jones opted to “part ways” … while McCarthy’s camp made sure the world knew that the coach would end up getting the job with the Bears or the Jets or the Saints. But now we know “Big Mike” is getting none of those jobs as on Tuesday night NFL.com reports that he’s “choosing” to “focus on the 2026 cycle.” In other words, nobody hired him.

Agent Don Yee stayed busy creating buzz about a McCarthy’s move to another NFL team. So the national media was all about the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets. The Bears idea got some traction when it was leaked that “they sent a private plane for him. But they hired Ben Johnson.

The Jets idea caught on due to a possible Aaron Rodgers reunion. But they hired Aaron Glenn without even interviewing McCarthy. And what is happening in New Orleans? The city’s biggest media outlet, the Times-Picayune, recently made a bold prediction … “Head coach Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys mutually agree to part ways,” wrote columnist, adding, “after courting Brian Flores, Aaron Glenn and Jon Gruden for their vacant head coaching position, the Saints announce the hiring of Mike McCarthy as the club’s 12th head coach. …”

It’s almost as if Yee wrote that himself. The Saints.did interview McCarthy. But he’s not getting the job. Ironically, the guy who might is Kellen Moore, the Eagles coordinator who is Super Bowl-bound after having been nudged from The Star by none other than McCarthy. Meanwhile, “Big Mike” lieutenant Brian Schottenheimer is the new Cowboys coach … while McCarthy is left sitting out a year until he gets another crack on the NFL Coach Carousel.