College In 1987, Duane Dirk, the defensive coordinator at
Fort Hays State University in Kansas, hired McCarthy as a defensive
graduate assistant (GA). Over the next two years, McCarthy focused on linebackers and defensive ends. During his time as the defensive graduate assistant, McCarthy pursued a Master of Science degree, and he graduated with a master's in sports administration in 1989. After serving as a graduate assistant at Fort Hays State from 1987 to 1988, McCarthy returned home to Pittsburgh. On July 30, 1989, McCarthy contacted
Mike Gottfried, the head coach at the
University of Pittsburgh, looking for a coaching job, but no positions were available. McCarthy was told to mail his resume, and he later showed up at Gottfried's office without an appointment to introduce himself. Two days later, one of Gottfried's assistants resigned, and McCarthy was offered a volunteer coach position without pay. McCarthy later worked under coach
Paul Hackett. In 1993 and 1994, McCarthy worked with Hall of Fame quarterback
Joe Montana.
Green Bay Packers When Schottenheimer resigned from the Chiefs after the 1998 season, McCarthy left Kansas City and became the Packers' quarterbacks coach, where worked with Hall of Famer
Brett Favre. While McCarthy was quarterbacks coach, the 1999 Packers team was ranked seventh in passing and ninth in overall offense in the league. then won their first playoff game in the franchise's history and finished 10th overall in offense. McCarthy was selected as
National Football Conference (NFC) Assistant Coach of the Year by
USA Today in 2000. McCarthy stayed with the team for five seasons through 2004. His unit had setbacks, including the trade of their most experienced quarterback,
Tim Rattay. Despite this, rookie running back
Frank Gore would emerge to run for 608 rushing yards on 127 carries with a 4.8 Yards Per Carry (YPC) while wide receiver
Brandon Lloyd had 733 yards receiving and five touchdowns.
Green Bay Packers (second stint) 2006–2009 After Mike Sherman took the Packers to a 4–12 record in 2005, the team fired him on January 2, 2006, and immediately started interviewing for a replacement. McCarthy was interviewed by Packers general manager
Ted Thompson on January 8, and was offered the head coaching position three days later. In 2006, the Packers started with a 4–8 record, but the team still managed to win their last four games after both quarterback Brett Favre and backup quarterback
Aaron Rodgers sustained injuries, finishing the season 8–8, ending with a victory over their archrival, the
Chicago Bears. McCarthy guided the Packers to an 8–1 record through the first nine games of the
2007 season, tying Washington's
Joe Gibbs for the best win–loss ratio to start the first 25 games of a career at 16–9 and passing
Vince Lombardi, who went 15–10, for the best coaching start in Packers' history. The team finished the regular season with a 13–3 record and obtained the number two seed in the NFC playoffs. McCarthy led the Packers to the
NFC Championship Game, where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl-winning
New York Giants in overtime. After the 2007 season, McCarthy finished second in voting for
The Associated Press Coach of the Year award, garnering 15 votes to
Bill Belichick's 29 votes. On January 19, 2008, McCarthy signed a five-year contract extension with the team, which raised his salary to $3.4 million a year. The
2008 season was a tumultuous one. Aaron Rodgers, previously the backup, became the starting quarterback when Brett Favre announced his retirement in March. Favre then changed his mind and sought his previous position as the Green Bay quarterback. The organization reiterated its intent to move forward with Rodgers as the new face of the Packers, although Favre was offered the backup position behind Rodgers. Favre refused the offer, and was traded to the
New York Jets in exchange for a conditional fourth-round draft pick. The
2008 season started with a 5–5 record, followed by five consecutive losses. The season ended with a 31–21 victory over the
Detroit Lions, bringing the Packers' regular season record to 6–10. The Packers finished third in the NFC North, ahead of only the Lions, and did not make the playoffs. Under McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers threw for over 4,000 yards and posted a 93.8
passer rating. Rodgers improved on his 2008 statistics in
2009, but was sacked 50 times, more than any other quarterback in the NFL. The Packers dominated teams with losing records but were swept by their rival
Minnesota Vikings, led by former Packers franchise quarterback
Brett Favre. The Packers lost to the previously winless
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but then came back to beat the NFC East-leading
Dallas Cowboys. They then went on a five-game winning streak and qualified for the playoffs with a Week 17 victory over the
Arizona Cardinals, finishing with an 11–5 record. This was the second playoff berth in McCarthy's tenure. However, the Packers lost to the Cardinals in overtime 51–45 during the Wild Card Round.
2010 In 2010, the Packers had 25 players on the injured reserve list throughout the season. Running back
Ryan Grant sustained an injury in week one that sidelined him for the rest of the season. McCarthy nonetheless led the Packers to a 10–6 regular season finish, never losing by more than four points and never trailing by more than 7 throughout the entire season. This record earned them second place in the NFC North, behind the
Chicago Bears, with whom they split victories in the regular season. They went into the NFC playoffs as the sixth seed. The Packers defeated the number three-seeded
Philadelphia Eagles by a 21–16 score in the wild card round. They then played the number one-seeded
Atlanta Falcons, beating them by a convincing margin of 48–21. The Packers then played the Chicago Bears for the third time that season in the
NFC Championship Game. They won 21–14 and advanced to
Super Bowl XLV. After this game, McCarthy's team had a 3–0 postseason record on the road.
Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV pitted the Packers against the
Pittsburgh Steelers, marking the first time the two storied franchises played each other in the postseason. The Packers defeated the Steelers 31–25 to win their fourth
Super Bowl and 13th
NFL title overall. The win returned the Lombardi Trophy to Green Bay for the first time since 1996.
2011–2017 The 2011 Packers team was a record-setting one, leading the NFL in points scored and setting a franchise record for wins at 15–1 and consecutive wins. McCarthy's offensive strategies facilitated Aaron Rodgers' NFL MVP season, as he threw for 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns, throwing most often to receiver
Jordy Nelson. The Packers' season ended in the NFC Divisional Round against the
New York Giants. The team had suffered a number of setbacks, including the neck injury to
Nick Collins, and appeared to have suffered, rather than benefited, from the time off, dropping nine passes in this game. the first time the Packers had won two consecutive NFC North titles since the three they won from 2002 to 2004. McCarthy's offensive strategies led to the Packers scoring 433 points, with Aaron Rodgers passing for 4,295 yards. The 2012 playoffs was the 28th time the franchise had secured a playoff berth. After beating the
Minnesota Vikings in the first round, the Packers lost on the road to the
San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round by a score of 45–31. In 2013, McCarthy led the Packers to a regular season record of 8–7–1 and the NFC North title, the third consecutive division win. That year, McCarthy took his team to their fifth straight playoff appearance. During the summer of 2014, the village board of Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin voted to rename Potts Avenue “Mike McCarthy Way.” In 2014, McCarthy guided the Packers to their fourth consecutive NFC North title with a 12–4 record. The team ranked sixth in the NFL in total offense, with an average of 386 yards per game, and first in points scored, with an average of 30.4 points per game. In receiving yards, Jordy Nelson led the team with 1,519 yards. Aaron Rodgers threw for 4,381 yards and
Eddie Lacy had 1,139 rushing yards. In November 2014, McCarthy signed a contract extension through 2018. With a Week 16 victory over the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, McCarthy notched his 99th win, passing Hall of Famer
Vince Lombardi (98) for second on the Packers' all-time wins list, behind only Hall of Famer
Curly Lambeau (212). The Packers defeated the
Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, but in the NFC Championship Game against the
Seattle Seahawks, the Packers collapsed. Despite holding a 16–0 lead at halftime and a 19–7 lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, the Packers went on to lose the 28–22 in overtime. McCarthy was criticized after making several questionable play calls during this loss. At the start of the game, he went for two field goals at the one-yard line, and was criticized for "not going for it". During the last five minutes of the game, McCarthy called three run plays to
Eddie Lacy with 3:52 minutes left, and the Packers punted on fourth down; critics slammed McCarthy for "not giving
Aaron Rodgers a chance" to win the game. A day after the loss, McCarthy stated that he is "not questioning his play-calling", as well as stating that he "came to run the ball". Others defended McCarthy; in March 2015, at the annual owners' meetings, Bill Belichick stated that McCarthy is "one of the best coaches I've ever gone up against." McCarthy relinquished play calling duties to long-time assistant
Tom Clements in February 2015. While the Packers made the playoffs for the seventh consecutive time after the 2015 season, the team struggled with a weak running game. In December, McCarthy once again took over play calling responsibilities. After he did so, the Packers recorded a 28–7 victory over the
Dallas Cowboys, running the ball for 230 yards. The 2016 season made McCarthy the fourth head coach in the history of the NFL to take his team to eight-plus consecutive playoff appearances. In the postseason, the Packers won in the Wild Card Round against the
New York Giants (38–13) and then in the Divisional Round against the
Dallas Cowboys (34–31) before losing on the road to the
Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game (44–21). The Packers began the 2017 season with a 4–1 record, but was later hamstrung by a collarbone injury to Rodgers in Week 6 against the
Minnesota Vikings. Afterwards, backup quarterback
Brett Hundley made his first career start. With only a backup quarterback to work with, McCarthy and the Packers failed to clinch a postseason appearance in 2017, finishing with a 7–9 record.
2018 On January 2, 2018, it was announced that McCarthy had signed a one-year contract extension with the Packers. On December 2, 2018, after a 20–17 loss to the
Arizona Cardinals, McCarthy was fired after 13 seasons as head coach. He finished his Packers tenure with a regular season record and a postseason record for a combined record of . McCarthy led the team to nine playoff appearances and a Super Bowl victory. The
Arizona Cardinals expressed interest, but McCarthy declined to proceed with an interview. McCarthy's interview with the Browns was initially scheduled for January 3, 2019, before being moved to a week later. The Browns offered McCarthy the head coach position, but he declined it, because it would have required him to retain
Freddie Kitchens as offensive coordinator. The Browns hired Kitchens instead. McCarthy interviewed with the Jets on January 5, 2019. The Jets also interviewed Chiefs offensive coordinator
Eric Bieniemy and former Miami Dolphins coach
Adam Gase. On January 9, 2019, McCarthy announced that he intended to sit out the 2019 season and return for 2020. McCarthy spent time improving his football knowledge and strategies. In collaboration with fellow coaches such as
Jim Haslett,
Frank Cignetti Jr. and
Scott McCurley, McCarthy studied league playbooks, league trends, and analytics, with the intention of returning to the NFL. He said that his "McCarthy Project" made him "definitely a better coach".
Dallas Cowboys 2020 McCarthy interviewed for the vacant head coach position to replace
Jason Garrett, which took place over 12 hours, with Cowboys owner
Jerry Jones, executive vice president Stephen Jones, and chief sales and marketing officer Jerry Jones Jr. The other person to interview for the position was
Marvin Lewis. On January 7, 2020, McCarthy was announced as the Cowboys' new head coach. McCarthy was the Cowboys' ninth head coach since the organization was founded in 1960. On September 13, 2020, McCarthy lost his Cowboys head coaching debut against the
Los Angeles Rams on the road by a score of 20–17. In the next game, McCarthy received his first win as the Cowboys' head coach in a narrow 40–39 comeback victory over the
Atlanta Falcons. McCarthy was challenged by the heavy restrictions imposed in the league due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in terms of physical contact with the players, their availability due to a positive test for the virus or having been exposed to someone who had it, a reduced
training camp schedule and the cancellation of the preseason games, which complicated the implementation of the new offensive and defensive schemes. Aggravating the situation was the poor showing of most of the team's free agent signings. The Cowboys finished the season with a 6–10 record, placing third in the NFC East. After losing starting quarterback
Dak Prescott to a dislocated ankle in a Week 5 37–34 victory over the
New York Giants, the Cowboys still remained in playoff contention in a weak division and with
Andy Dalton as the starter at quarterback for most of the season. However, the team struggled defensively, allowing 473 points, which was the Cowboys' worst . After the season, the Cowboys fired defensive coordinator
Mike Nolan and defensive line coach
Jim Tomsula.
2021 McCarthy was fined $50,000 by the NFL on July 1, 2021, for violating practice rules during organized team activities. As a result of the fine, McCarthy said in a statement the majority of the seven to nine plays the NFL discussed with him involved younger players. From July through September 2021, McCarthy and the Cowboys were featured on the HBO sports documentary
Hard Knocks. The experience, which McCarthy called “a good one,” involved a large camera crew filming the entirety of Cowboys training camp. For the
2021 season, McCarthy guided the team to a 12–5 record and an NFC East division title, including sweeping the entire
NFC East for the first time since 1998. After a Week 9 30–16 loss to the
Denver Broncos, McCarthy displayed a can of Anti-Monkey Butt powder in a presentation to the team. He informed the Cowboys that although the prior week's loss had been a "Red Ass Week," McCarthy was confident his team would stage a comeback. McCarthy missed the Week 13 27–17 road victory over the
New Orleans Saints after testing positive for
COVID-19 and was placed in COVID protocols for 10 days. The Cowboys were upset at home 23–17 by the
San Francisco 49ers in the
playoffs in the wild-card round. The game ended with the clock running out on the Cowboys following a
quarterback draw as they attempted to spike the ball to stop the clock to permit a final pass play. McCarthy was particularly criticized for his decision to use a quarterback draw with 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter, instead of going for two or more passes from further out. McCarthy defended his decision, explaining that he was hoping to get another, easier play in after coming closer to the end zone and that he thought that 14 seconds was sufficient to allow his team to do this.
2022 Before the 2022 season, McCarthy was fined $100,000 by the NFL for violating offseason practice rules. He canceled a preseason practice instead holding a team bonding golf event. For the
2022 season, McCarthy led the Cowboys to a 12–5 record, tying the 2021 season record and placing second in the NFC East. During the season-opening loss to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, quarterback
Dak Prescott suffered a thumb fracture that required surgery and absence from the team until Week 7. McCarthy replaced him with backup quarterback
Cooper Rush who went 4–1 over the next five games. McCarthy dealt with other injuries from key players including safety Jayron Kearse and left tackle Tyron Smith. Before a Week 9 game against the Packers, McCarthy got emotional about a return to Green Bay. He also said he was looking forward to seeing Aaron Rodgers. McCarthy led the Cowboys to a 31–14 road victory in the Wild Card Round against the Buccaneers, which was
Tom Brady's last game of his career and the club's first road playoff victory in over 30 years. Playing against the
San Francisco 49ers on the road, the Cowboys lost for the second year in a row to their longtime rival by a score of 19–12 and extended the franchise's streak to seven straight defeats in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
2023 In January 2023, McCarthy announced that the Cowboys would be parting ways with offensive coordinator
Kellen Moore. He also parted ways with six other coaches. In February 2023, team owner Jerry Jones stated that McCarthy would call plays during the following season. McCarthy new hires included offensive coordinator
Brian Schottenheimer. The Cowboys overpowered opposing teams with its offense, boasting a top 5 rank in total yards and scoring. Prescott flourished and CeeDee Lamb emerged as one of the league's best wide receivers. The Cowboys were ranked second heading to the NFC playoffs and faced McCarthy's old team the
Green Bay Packers at home, but the wild-card matchup against the youngest team in the league ended in embarrassment. Dallas experienced a 27-0 deficit before halftime, before losing in a 48-32 blowout. The result brought forth questions about McCarthy's job security, that forced Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to release a statement confirming that he would retain McCarthy as head coach, saying the team is "very close and capable of achieving our ultimate goals." The Cowboys also became the first team in the Super Bowl era to win 12 games in three straight seasons but not be able to reach a conference title game in that stretch.
2024 McCarthy's return set up a difficult dynamic, where he and his entire coaching staff entered the last year of their contracts, without the possibility of an extension. He also was forced to replace defensive coordinator
Dan Quinn who took the head coach position with the
Washington Commanders with
Mike Zimmer. The team lost depth and didn't have any important signing in free agency, ending with a roster that wasn't set up to succeed, even though Jones used the term "all-in" to describe the Cowboys' approach in 2024. The team won their season opener against the
Cleveland Browns by a score of 33–17. This win would be seemingly in vain, as they lost three of their next five matchups. These included a 44–19 blowout loss in week 2 to the
New Orleans Saints, as well as a 47–9 blowout loss to the
Detroit Lions in Week 6. After the bye, they would not bounce back, losing four straight. Even worse, in week 9, starting quarterback
Dak Prescott tore his hamstring. Playing backups
Cooper Rush and
Trey Lance, the Cowboys finished 7–10. On January 13, 2025, it was announced that McCarthy would no longer be the head coach of the Cowboys.
Pittsburgh Steelers 2026 On January 24, 2026, McCarthy was hired by the
Pittsburgh Steelers as their new head coach. ==Awards==