The 12th-winningest head coach in NFL history will reportedly spend 2025 focusing on the 2026 hiring cycle. It’s a tactic he’s used before.

Mike McCarthy is out of the running for the New Orleans Saints' head coaching job and no longer plans to coach in 2025, ESPN reported late Tuesday.

After careful consideration, Mike McCarthy has made a decision on his future. The former Dallas Cowboys ' head coach has decided to forego coaching in the NFL next season, sources told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. MORE: Cowboys' VP Will McClay emphasizes organizational alignment with Brian Schottenheimer

Mike McCarthy removed himself from the New Orleans Saints head coach search following his exit from the Dallas Cowboys. Craig Carton, Danny Parkins, Mark Schlereth, and Greg Jennings ask if McCarthy will ever coach in the NFL again.

McCarthy, whose contract expired with the Cowboys and wasn't signed to an extension, will sit out the 2025 season, according to NFL Media's Tom Pelissero. McCarthy removed his name from consideration for the New Orleans Saints' vacancy. The Saints are the last team to have a head coaching job open this offseason.

Mike McCarthy has decided that he will not coach in the NFL in the 2025 season, NFL Network Insiders Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday, as the former Cowboys and Packers head coach has decided to instead focus on the 2026 hiring cycle.

McCarthy is the third high-profile candidate to pull out of the Saints' search, joining Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady and Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

Mike McCarthy has decided against coaching in 2025, removing himself as a candidate to fill the NFL’s last remaining head coaching vacancy with the New Orleans Saints.

I’m not giving up my fight. You’re gonna ride by here again in another year or two if this thing don’t work out again, and my song will still be singing like a young Diana Ross: Deion! All the way.'' - Michael Irvin on the Cowboys not hiring coach Sanders.

The Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator is reportedly the leader in the clubhouse to become the next head coach of the New Orleans Saints, but that doesn't make it the right move.

The New Orleans Saints are the final remaining team to have a head coaching vacancy, and they know at least one name that won't be on their sideline in 2025. Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy removed his name from consideration and will be focusing on the 2026 head coaching cycle, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.