Anyone paying attention to the lengthy coaching search for the New Orleans Saints can easily identify that the franchise’s top candidates were Aaron Glenn and Mike McCarthy. Since the offseason started for New Orleans, those are the two names that have been connected to the team’s open role.
However, Glenn opted to take the job with the New York Jets, forgoing an in-person interview with the Saints. While that was a bummer for New Orleans, the most logical next step for the franchise would be to turn its attention to Mike McCarthy. That’s not exactly what happened, though.
The Saints are still interviewing a handful of candidates, including Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who the team flew to Philly to interview on Monday. McCarthy is also still in the mix, but his official interview with the team has become somewhat of an elusive matter.
Since McCarthy became a free agent on January 13, there have been reports that the Saints are planning to interview him. As of January 28, that hasn’t happened yet. New Orleans did have to delay some interviews because of a winter storm, but the team has already completed rescheduled interviews with three candidates, who aren’t McCarthy.
Nick Underhill reported that the Saints have a plan to interview McCarthy at the end of the week (the finak week of January), and that would be his first official interview with the team if it comes to fruition.
This could just be a matter of scheduling issues, and New Orleans taking time to get to know candidates it may not be that high on, or it could be a sign that there’s some friction behind the scenes with McCarthy. A recent report from a veteran insider points to the latter being the case.
On Tuesday, Josina Anderson reported that a league source has informed her of several questions surrounding McCarthy and the Saints. The nature of the questions “have involved sentiments over the power structure & communication when it comes to football decisions, length of contract, etc.”
A league source tells me some of the questions surrounding Mike McCarthy and the #Saints head coach vacancy (ever since he became a free agent) have involved sentiments over the power structure & communication when it comes to football decisions, length of contract, etc.--similar…
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) January 28, 2025
Mike McCarthy reportedly has questions about the power structure and football decisions for Saints
Saints fans saw this report, and two words came to mind— one name, really: Mickey Loomis. The longtime general manager for New Orleans doesn’t have many supporters in the fanbase, so this was immediately interpreted as a thinly-veiled shot at Loomis.
Naturally, an experienced coach like McCarthy, who has a 174-112-2 record and one Super Bowl ring over 18 years as a head coach, would want a large say in what happens with the team he’s coaching. It’s also fair to assume he’d like a contract that adequately reflects his resume.
If those things are truly sticking points for the Saints, the franchise doesn’t have many other really good candidates to turn to. Six teams have already hired head coaches, and New Orleans is the only team with a vacancy that hasn’t. So the Saints either need to get things figured out with McCarthy, or they’ll probably be moving forward with Kellen Moore.