The New York Giants‘ head-coaching search started in earnest Tuesday with one of the most highly decorated candidates available.
Mike McCarthy, the former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, spoke with New York brass for its head-coaching vacancy according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Media.
McCarthy, 62, was fired by the Cowboys after five seasons in 2024. He sat out the 2025 season but thinks highly of Jaxson Dart, the Giants’ franchise quarterback, who of course was chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft last year.
New York finished 4-13 and earned the No. 5 pick in the NFL Draft. The Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll on Nov. 10 after he went 20-40-1 in three-plus years.
Mike McCarthy Is An Offensive-Minded Head Coach
Dallas twice led the NFL in points per game under McCarthy and also ranked in the top-5 in yards per game two times in his five-season tenure.
Under McCarthy, the Cowboys managed better balance of running the ball and passing, though that changed swiftly when Brian Schottenheimer took over as offensive coordinator in 2023. That shift also coincided with franchise running back Ezekiel Elliott leaving for the New England Patriots in free agency.
Historically, McCarthy has been old school in his approach to analytics, which does sometimes trend more conservative in his offensive philosophy. That, along with his 11-11 playoff record, may not sit well with fans who have grown more accustomed to the more aggressive style that many coaches in the league have adopted.
But McCarthy sure can win in the regular season. He has a .608 career winning% in 288 games, and his 174 career wins ranks fifth among active head coaches, behind only Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin, Sean Payton and John Harbaugh.
The Giants have won just 13 games over their past three seasons and have just 44 victories in the past nine years. They may need a McCarthy type to help reset the culture, which has been poisoned since Tom Coughlin was let go after the 2015 season.
Mike McCarthy Can Work Well With Elite Quarterbacks
Dart showed huge flashes of playmaking and raw ability in his rookie season, especially with his legs. But the Giants’ next hire is going to be crucial to his development.
Sure, offensive coordinator and interim coach Mike Kafka has a solid resume, but Dart needs continuity to take the next step as a passer. He’s already about to learn his second offense in as many NFL seasons, which threatens to stunt any progress made while studying under elite offensive head coach Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.
But McCarthy has worked with the best (Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre) and some not-so-good QBs and still managed to have success. He and Rodgers had historic years in Green Bay, notably 2011, where they went 15-1 and led the NFL in points and finished third in yards.
Giants fans will remember 2011 as the year they upset McCarthy and Co. in the postseason — the same way Coughlin and the Giants closed the Favre era with an NFC Championship Game upset in 2007-08 en route to the Super Bowl XLII win.
But given his regular-season prowess and ability developing QBs like Rodgers, the Giants could definitely do worse than Mike McCarthy.
Giants Interviewed Super Bowl Champion For Head Coaching Vacancy