Cowboys deny Bears’ request for permission to interview Mike McCarthy

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that soon-to-be free agent coach Mike McCarthy is free to “go talk” with other teams.

Jones left out the part about not letting other teams talk to McCarthy.

Via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, Cowboys they denied the bear’s request for permission to interview McCarthy.

McCarthy contract expires on January 14. At that point, the Cowboys can’t stop him from interviewing with other teams. And that’s only a week away. However, until Jan. 14, the Cowboys can deny McCarthy the opportunity to talk to other teams.

It’s unclear if that means the Cowboys will give McCarthy a new contract or if they intend to fully exercise their exclusive rights to negotiate with McCarthy.

However it plays out, here’s one prediction we’ll make — the team will leak or release word about McCarthy’s future during Sunday’s Packers-Eagles wild card playoff game.