Another name is expected to be officially added to the New Orleans Saints head coaching candidate list this week, and it's a familiar one.
The Saints are working to set up an in-person interview with Mike McCarthy this week, according to a report from NewOrleans.Football, along with several others as they seek to find their next head coach.
McCarthy has long been named as a likely candidate for the Saints' job since he and the Dallas Cowboys parted ways earlier this month with the expiration of his contract. McCarthy has ties to the Saints, serving as the offensive coordinator on Jim Haslett's staff from 2000-'04. Randy Mueller was the GM when McCarthy was hired and is now a personnel advisor for the Saints front office.
A Super Bowl champion, McCarthy went 125-77-2 with the Packers before taking over the Cowboys for five seasons. He led Dallas to three consecutive 12-win seasons but just one playoff win, with that run bookended by 6-10 and 7-10 seasons in which QB Dak Prescott was lost to season-ending injuries.
The Saints are also expected to have in-person interviews this week with Giants OC Mike Kafka, Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver and Lions DC Aaron Glenn, though Glenn will be interviewing with the Jets prior to the Saints. New Orleans has already interviewed interim head coach Darren Rizzi.
The Saints have also interviewed Eagles OC Kellen Moore and Bills OC Joe Brady virtually, with both of those teams playing in their respective conference championship games. The Saints have also requested to interview Commanders DC Kliff Kingsbury, who has indicated he does not intend to pursue head coaching opportunities until after the season.
The head coach spot is just one major question to answer this offseason for a Saints team looking to end a skid of four consecutive postseason misses. This year featured a 7-game losing streak, the longest since the turn of the century. The final loss came in Week 9 to the Panthers and was followed by the firing of Dennis Allen, who has since surfaced as the leading candidate to take over as defensive coordinator with the Bears on new head coach Ben Johnson's staff. The Raiders, Jets, Jaguars and Cowboys are the other remaining teams with head coaching slots left to fill.
