It's getting more evident by the hour that Mike McCarthy will be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for at least the 2025 season.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport joined Shan, RJ and Bobby on Wednesday morning, and shared why he believes McCarthy is likely to sign a new deal with Dallas this offseason.
Rapoport's visit with 105.3 The Fan comes after the Cowboys denied the Chicago Bears' request to interview McCarthy for their head coaching vacancy Tuesday.
The assumption was that McCarthy's return was a foregone conclusion after reports came down that Jerry Jones had turned down Chicago, but Rapoport says that decision had nothing to do with McCarthy's fate.
"I knew there was zero chance they'd let him interview with the Bears," Rapoport said on 105.3 The Fan. ... It's an exclusive negotiating window and I think the Cowboys take these things seriously. I don't think they are going to [wait until Jan. 14 to come to terms on a new deal] but they are going to use a pretty good portion [of their negotiating window].
"The denial was always going to happen no matter what. ... They're not just going to give up the exclusive negotiating window for nothing. So I knew there was no chance that anyone was going to get to interview him."
And how does this all end? Rapoport believes McCarthy will return but the sticking point in negotiations will be the structure of the contract.
"How that actually happens is an interesting thing," said Rapoport. "If you're the Cowboys, what you would like is the most flexibility. ... Best case, [you sign him to a] one-year deal. Give him the option at the end of next year. That's not going to happen. What about two years? That's not going to happen either. How many years are we talking? If you're McCarthy, you want the longest deal you can get because you want the most security. ... There's a middle ground in there. They just have to find it. But at the end of the day, I believe McCarthy will be the Cowboys head coach."
Rapoport also said McCarthy does have some leverage in negotiations because other NFL teams would jump at the opportunity to hire McCarthy as their next head coach.
Could McCarthy return if the team strips him from his play calling duties and who are the other potential candidates Dallas would reach out to if everything falls through with their head coach?