Mike McCarthy agrees to become next Cowboys coach, reports say

The Dallas Cowboys and Mike McCarthy have agreed on a deal for the former Green Bay coach to replace Jason Garrett, according to multiple media reports.

McCarthy interviewed over the weekend before the Cowboys had announced Garrett wasn’t returning. Garrett had an expiring contract coming off a make-or-break season that ended with Dallas missing the playoffs for the sixth time in his nine full seasons.

The 56-year-old McCarthy won a Super Bowl with the Packers on the Cowboys’ home field nine years ago. Green Bay made nine trips to the playoffs in his 13 years. McCarthy was fired during what ended up being a second straight losing season for the Packers in 2018.

McCarthy led the Packers to at least 10 wins in eight of his first 11 seasons, including four trips to the NFC championship game.

Dallas hasn’t been that far in the playoffs since the last of the franchise’s five Super Bowl titles to finish the 1995 season. The Cowboys missed the playoffs six times in Garrett’s nine full seasons.

McCarthy also interviewed with Cleveland, Carolina and the New York Giants. He went 125-77-2 in the regular season with the Packers and 10-8 in the playoffs. The Cowboys have just three playoff wins since their last championship.

The eight-year playoff run for McCarthy and Rodgers was from 2009-16, a stretch that included two divisional-round victories over the Garrett-led Cowboys.

The Cowboys believe they have their next franchise QB in Dak Prescott, who was the 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after replacing the injured Tony Romo and never relinquishing the starting job.

Prescott, whose rookie contract is expiring, and two-time rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott have made the playoffs twice in four seasons and got their first playoff victory in 2018 after losing their postseason debut to Rodgers and McCarthy with Dallas as the NFC’s top seed in 2016.