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The Bears will have to wait to talk to Mike McCarthy — if they talk to him at all.
The Cowboys declined the Bears’ request to interview McCarthy, their own head coach, for their own vacancy on Tuesday, per ESPN. The Bears asked to permission to speak with him Monday, but the Cowboys hold exclusive negotiating rights with McCarthy until his initial five-year contract expires Jan. 14. If the Cowboys let him leave, then the Bears could speak to McCarthy.
Among active coaches, only the Chiefs’ Andy Reid and the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin have more career victories than McCarthy.