This article will answer every question you have about Mike McCarthy. Below are some of the frequently asked questions about him.
- What does Mike McCarthy do for a living?
- Who are Mike McCarthy’s parents and siblings?
- What are Mike McCarthy’s interests and hobbies?
- Is Mike McCarthy married or does he have a girlfriend?
- Does Mike McCarthy have any children?
- Where is Mike McCarthy now?
- How tall is Mike McCarthy?
- How much money does Mike McCarthy earn?
- What is Mike McCarthy’s net worth?
N/B: Please read the entire post to have all your questions answered.
Who is Mike McCarthy?
Michael John McCarthy widely known as Mike McCarthy is an American professional football coach. He is presently the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). Previously he was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 2006 to 2018. He guided the team to a victory in Super Bowl XLV in 2011 against his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers. Earlier on in his coaching career, he was the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints.
McCarthy has an overall regular-season record of 131-87-2 within his 14 seasons as a head coach in the NFL. He is one of the four head coaches (Tom Landry, Bill Belichick, and Chuck Noll) to lead one franchise to eight straight playoff appearances. In all the victories for leading the Packers, Mike is second only to Curly Lambeau.
Mike McCarthy Playing career
McCarthy studied at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona and played for one season for the Fighting Artichokes football team in 1984. He then transferred to Baker University, an NAIA school in Baldwin City, Kansas. There he was a two-time all-conference tight-end. Mike was captain of the team in 1986, which completed the season as the national runner-up in NAIA Division II.
How old is Mike McCarthy?
Michael John McCarthy was born on November 10, 1963, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., and is aged 58 as of 2021. He shares his birthday with celebrities including Josh Peck, Ellen Pompeo, Mackenzie Foy, Britanny Murphy, Martin Luther, Taron Egerton, Teddy Bridgewater, Richard Burton, among others.
Mike McCarthy Family
Who are Mike McCarthy’s parents?
Michael John McCarthy was born in Pittsburgh to Joe McCarthy and Ellen McCarthy in the blue-collar neighborhood of Greenfield. His father was a firefighter for the Pittsburgh Fire Bureau and an officer for the Pittsburgh Police, and also owns a bar called Joe McCarthy’s Bar and Grill. His mother was a secretary and served in restaurants and for the Peace & Justice Center.
Does Mike McCarthy have siblings?
Michael McCarthy was born to his parents in a family of five children. He has four siblings, three sisters Colleen McCarthy, Ellen McCarthy, and Kellie McCarthy, and one younger brother Joseph McCarthy III, who died in 2015.
Mike McCarthy Education
Mike studied at St. Rosalia primary school, playing basketball. He later made annual donations to the school. McCarthy joined and studied at Bishop Boyle High School. After graduating he attended Scottsdale Community College in Arizona before Baker University an NAIA school located in Baldwin City, Kansas. He graduated with a B.S. in business administration in 1987. Mike went on to earn a master of science degree and graduated with an M.S. in Sports Administration.
Mike McCarthy Interest
McCarthy has been a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and always loved football and baseball. He began playing baseball in primary school and went on to play football in college for the Fighting Artichokes football team. Mike was also the captain of the team and completed the season as the national runner-up in NAIA Division II.
Mike and his wife have given back to the community and people in need for a long time. They were involved with the Seven Loaves Project in Rwanda. The couple also founded the McCarthy Family Foundation, a charitable nonprofit. They frequently donated to the American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.
Their foundation has been involved with many donations and fundraising and even donated $100,000 to the Green Bay Police Foundation. The funds were used to buy protective equipment for police officers in the area, and outreach programs intended to build community relations, and bias prevention training for the officers.
Mike McCarthy Wife
Mike was married to his high school sweetheart, Christine, but in 1995 they divorced. He then married Jessica McCarthy in March 2008 and is happily married to date. The couple has five children collectively together.
Mike McCarthy Kids
McCarthy and his sweetheart Jessica, have five children collectively. They have two sons from Jessica’s previous marriage, a daughter from McCarthy’s previous marriage, and two daughters together. His known children are Gabrielle Kathleen, Isabella Conroy, and Alexandra.
Mike McCarthy Height
McCarthy has a well-built, muscular, and athletic body with a medium height of 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) and moderate weight of 104 kg (229.28 lbs).
Mike McCarthy Net Worth
McCarthy has been a coach from 1987 to the present and has coached numerous teams. He is the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys since 2020 and became a head coach for the first time in 2006. He has built a reputation for himself in his coaching career and is among the most respected coaches in sports. McCarthy receives an annual salary of $4 million and has an accumulative net worth of $9 million as of 2021.
Mike McCarthy Coaching career
College
McCarthy was hired in 1987 by Duane Dirk, the defensive coordinator at Fort Hays State University in Kansas as a defensive graduate assistant (GA). Mike focused on linebackers and defensive ends, for over the following two years. During his time as a defensive graduate assistant, he received a master of science degree and graduated with an M.S. in Sports Administration in 1989.
Mike went back home to Pittsburgh after working as a graduate assistant at Fort Hays State from 1987 to 1988. He then contacted Mike Gottfried on July 30, 1989, who was the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh, seeking a coaching job but to no avail. Mike was told to mail his resume and later he showed up at Gottfried’s office without an appointment to introduce himself. Several days later, one of Gottfried’s assistants resigned and McCarthy was offered a volunteer coach position with no pay. He later served under coach Paul Hackett.
Mike worked as a graduate assistant for three seasons before coaching wide receivers in the 1992 season. Originally, he also served the night shift on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as a toll collector in the off-season to supplement his income, He said he spent his time in the tollbooth reviewing the University of Pittsburgh playbook.
NFL
Assistant coach
Kansas City Chiefs
Mike and Paul Hackett departed Pittsburgh in 1993 and were hired by the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs under head coach Mary Schottenheimer. Mike served as an offensive quality control assistant for two years. When he was a head coach for the Green Bay Packers, he hired six former quality control coaches to work as his position coaches. Mike served with Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana from 1993 to 1994. He became quarterbacks coach for the Chiefs in 1995 overseeing Rich Gannon, Steve Bono, and Elvis Grbac. His signal-callers threw 52 interceptions, which was the lowest in the American Football Conference (AFC) during that time.
Green Bay Packers
After Marty resigned from the Chiefs following the 1998 season, Mike departed Kansas City and became the Packer’s quarterbacks coach. At Green Bay, he served with Hall of Famer Brett Favre. As he served with McCarthy, in the 1999 season, Packers quarterback Brett Favre threw for 4,091 yards, the fourth-best total of his career. With Mike as the quarterbacks’ coach, the 1999 team was rated seventh in passing and ninth in overall offense in the league.
New Orleans Saints
Mike was hired by the New Orleans Saints in 2000, as the offensive coordinator. That year, the team won their first playoff game in the franchise’s history and completed 10th overall in the offense. In the regular season, they held a 10-6 record. In 2000, Mike was chosen as National Football Conference (NFC) Assistant Coach of the Year by USA Today. The Saints topped the NFC in scoring, with 49 touchdowns and 432 points.
The Saints scored 340 points, their eighth highest-scoring season ever in 2003. All of Mike’s four years with the team rank in the team’s top 10 years for offense. With the Saints, their offense set 25 individual and 10 team records, Joe Horn was able to catch 45 touchdowns and 437 passes for 6,289 yards. In McCarthy’s time with the Saints, running backs Deuce McCallister and Ricky Williams both had a 1,000-yard season. In Mike’s first two years, running back Ricky Williams would run for 2,245 yards with 14 touchdowns. Mike remained with the Saints for five seasons to 2004.
San Francisco 49ers
Mike worked for the San Francisco 49ers, as offensive coordinator in 2005, hired by coach Mike Nolan. His unit had problems such as the trade of their most experienced quarterback Tim Rattay. Rattay was replaced by a rookie quarterback, top draft selection Alex Smith, who was injured in week 7 of the season.
The 49ers completed the season ranked 30th in the NFL points scored and dead last in yards gained. However, rookie running back Frank Gore emerged to run for 608 rushing yards on 127 carries with a 4.8 Yards Per Carry (YPC). Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd had 733 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns.
Green Bay Packers
2006-2007
Following Mike Sherman’s first losing season with the Packers, he was fired and the team began interviewing for a replacement. Mike was interviewed by their general manager Ted Thompson on January 8, 2006, and three days later he got the job. The Packers began with a 4-8 record in 2006, following quarterback Brett Favre and backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained injuries. However, the team still won their last four games completing the season 8-8, and ending with a victory against their arch opponents Chicago Bears.
Mike led the Packers to an 8-1 record in the first 9 games of the 2007 season. They went on to win 10 games out of their first 11. The Packers finished the regular season with a record of 13-3 and gained the number two seed in the NFC. Mike recorded the best win-loss ratio to begin the first 25 games of a career among active coaches. Following the 2007 season, he completed second in voting for The Associated Press Coach of the Years Award, with 15 votes to Bill Belichick‘s 29 votes. He signed a five-year deal extension on January 19, 2008, raising his salary to $3.4 million annually.
2008-2009
The Packers began the 2008 season with a record of 5-5, followed by five consecutive losses. They ended the season with a 31-21 win against the Detroit Lions, bringing the team’s regular-season record to 6-10. The team finished 3rd in the NFC North, just ahead of the Lions, but did not make the playoffs. Under Mike, quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for 4,000 yards and posted a 93.8 passer rating. Rodgers who was the backup quarterback became the starting quarterback after Brett announced his retirement in March 2008. However, he changed his mind and opted to stay and sought his previous position as a quarterback, but only got the backup position. He was later traded to the New York Jets in exchange for a conditional fourth-round draft pick.
Aaron improved on 2008’s statistics in 2009 but was sacked 50 times more than any other quarterback in the NFL. The team dominated teams with losing records but were beaten by their rival Minnesota Vikings, led by former Packers franchise quarterback Brett Favre. They then lost to former winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers but returned to defeat the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys.
Under Mike’s leadership, the team started a five-game winning streak, and they qualified for the playoffs with a Week 17 victory against the Cardinals completing with an 11-5 record. It was the second playoff berth in McCarthy’s tenure and the Packers lost the Wild Card round to the Cardinals in overtime, 51-45.
2010
The Packers had 25 players on the IR list in the season of 2010. Running back, Ryan Grant sustained an injury in week 1 that sidelined him for the rest of the season. Mike led the team 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. They completed as the sixth seed in the NFC. He took the Packers to the Wild Card round.
They defeated the No. 3-seeded Philadelphia Eagles with a 21-16 score. They then played the No. 1-seeded Atlanta Falcons. The team won with a final score of 48-21.McCarthy coached the Packers in the NFC Championship game and played the second-seeded Chicago Bears for the third time that season. The team won 21-14 and advanced to Super Bowl XLV. Following this game, Mike’s team had a 3-0 postseason record on the road.
Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV was the Packers against the Steelers and was the first time the two storied franchises played each other in the postseason. Before the game, confident in his team’s performance, Mike had the team fitted for Super Bowl championship rings. The Packers beat the Steelers 31-25 to win their fourth Super Bowl and 13th NFL title overall. The victory brought the Lombardi Trophy to Green Bay, the first time since the team’s 1996 season. The Packers were invited to the Obama White House to celebrate which was Mike’s first visit.
2011-2017
The 2011 Packers team was a record-setting one, leading the NFL in points scored and setting a franchise record for victories. Mike’s offensive strategies enabled quarterback Aaron’s NFL MVP season. He threw for 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns, throwing most often to receiver Jordy Nelson. McCarthy guided them to the playoffs, where they faced the New York Giants in the NFC Divisional Round. Their weaker defense, ranking 19th in scoring defense was attacked by Eli Manning, and they lost 37-20.
McCarthy’s coaching led the Packers with an 11-5 record ranking them 1st in the NFC North Division 2012. His offensive strategies enabled 433 points, with Rodgers passing for 4,295 yards. Winning their second consecutive NFC North in 2012 marked their first time winning two consecutive NFC titles since the three consecutive titles in the 2003-2004 seasons. The 2012 postseason was the 28th time the franchise had gotten a playoff berth.
2013-2014
McCarthy guided the 2013 Packers to a regular season in 2013 with a record of 8-7-1 and the NFC North title, their third consecutive division win. The same year, Mike led his team to their fifth straight playoff appearance. He led the Packers to their fourth consecutive NFC North title with a 12-4 record in the regular season in 2014. They ranked sixth in the NFL in total offense, with an average of 386 yards each game, and first in points scored, with an average of 30.4 points per game.
After the win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week 16, Mike attained his 99th victory. He passed Hall of Famer Vince Lombardi (98) for second on the team’s all-time wins list, after only Hall of Famer Curly Lambeau (212). The village board of Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin held a vote to rename Potts Avenue Mike McCarthy Way” in 2014. Mike later on November 2014 signed an extension deal through 2018.
2015
McCarthy received criticism on January 18, 2015, for making several play-calls in the NFL Championship game against the Seahawks that were ”conservative”. In the last five minutes, he called three run plays to Eddie Lacy with 3:52 minutes left, as the team punted a play later. They lost 22-28 in overtime, and Mike was criticized by Tony Manfred for ”not giving Rodgers a chance” to win the game. He then assigned play-calling duties to long-time assistant Tom Clements in February 2015.
Tom called the plays to December and the team struggled with a languishing running game. From there Mike took over the calling role again, and they recorded a 28-7 win against the Cowboys, running the ball for 230 yards. At the annual owner’s meeting, Bill Belichick said that McCarthy is ”one of the best coaches I’ve ever gone up against”, in March 2015.
2016-2017
McCarthy became the fourth head coach in the history of the NFL to take his team to eight-plus consecutive playoff appearances after the 2016 season. In the postseason, the team won the wild card game against the Giants (38-13) and later the NFC Divisional Playoff against the Cowboys (34-31). They then lost to the Atlanta Falcons at the NFC Championship by 44-21.
The Packers began the 2017 season with a 4-1 record, but Mike was later hit by an injury to his quarterback. Against Minnesota in week 6, Rodgers sustained a collarbone injury. Later backup quarterback Brett Hundley made his first career start. Mike failed to secure a postseason appearance in 2017, with only a backup quarterback to work with.
2018
It was revealed that McCarthy has signed a one-year contract extension with the Packers on January 2, 2018. Following a loss to the Arizona Cardinals by 20-17 on December 2, 2018, the team released McCarthy after 13 seasons as the head coach. He concluded his time with the team with a 125-77-2 (618) regular-season record and a 10-8 (.556) postseason record for a combined record of 135-85-2 (.613). Also, he guided the Packers to nine playoff appearances and a Super Bowl victory.
2019 Hiatus
Mike spent the 2019 season improving his football knowledge and strategies after interviewing with various teams. He decided to take the season off and return for 2020, after all his interviews did not go well and he declined various jobs. He refused an interview with the Arizona Cardinals and also the Cleveland Browns who then hired Freddie Kitchens. McCarthy had interviewed with the New York Jets and so did the Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Nieniemy and former Dolphins coach Adam Gase. The Jets opted to hire Adam Gase.
During his time off, he studied league playbooks, league trends, and analytics alongside fellow coaches. The coaches included Frank Cignetti Jr., Jim Haslett, and Scott McCurley, with the intention of returning to the NFL. He later stated that his ”McCarthy Project” definitely made him a better coach.
Dallas Cowboys
Following Head Coach Jason Garret parting ways with the Dallas Cowboys, Mike interviewed for the job. The vacant head coach position’s interview took place over 12 hours. Mike interviewed with the Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, executive vice president Stephen Jones, and chief sales and marketing officer Jerry Jones Jr. McCarthy was announced as the Cowboy’s new head coach on January 7, 2020. He became the ninth head coach of the Cowboys, since the founding of the organization in 1960.
Mike lost his debut as the head coach of the Cowboys on September 13, 2020, to the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 20-17. He then got his first victory as the head coach against the Atlanta Falcons by 40-39 on September 20, 2020. They finished the 2020 season with a record of 6-10 ranking third in the NFC East. In the early season on October 11, they lost starting quarterback Dak Prescott to a broken ankle but stayed in playoff contention for most of the season. The Cowboys struggled defensively (allowing 473 points). Following the season, which was their worst-ever defensive showing, they released defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, together with defensive line coach Jim Tomsula.
On July 1, 2021, Mike was fined 450,000 by the NFL for violating practice rules during organized team activities. Due to the result of the fine, he stated that the majority of the 7 to 9 plays the NFL discussed with him involved younger players. July through September 2021. Mike and the Cowboys were featured on the HBO sports documentary Hard Knocks. The experience, which Mike called ”a good one” involved a large camera crew filming the whole of the Cowboys training camp.
Awards
McCarthy was voted the Motorola NFL Coach of the Year in 2007 following receiving twice the Coach of the Week awards. Also, he was named the NFL Alumni’s Coach of the Year by a group of former players. He receive the distinguished service award at the Lee Remmel sports awards banquet in Green Bay in 2008. Additionally, he was picked as National Football Conference (NFC) Assistant Coach of the Year by USA Today in 2000.
