[1] He is among only five head coaches (Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Andy Reid, and Bill Belichick) to lead one franchise to eight straight playoff appearances.

In 1984, McCarthy attended Scottsdale Community College in Arizona, playing one season for the Fighting Artichokes football team.

[3] In 1993, McCarthy and Paul Hackett left Pittsburgh and were hired by the Kansas City Chiefs under head coach Marty Schottenheimer.

[19] In the 1999 season, while working with McCarthy, Packers quarterback Brett Favre threw for 4,091 yards, the fourth-best total of his career.

[20] That year, the Saints achieved a 10–6 regular season record,[21] then won their first playoff game in the franchise's history and finished 10th overall in offense.

[17] Rattay was replaced by a rookie quarterback, top draft pick Alex Smith, who was injured in Week 7 of the season.

[31] McCarthy was interviewed by Packers general manager Ted Thompson on January 8, 2006, and was offered the head coaching position three days later.

[35][36] McCarthy led the Packers to the NFC Championship game, where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl-winning New York Giants in overtime.

The Packers lost to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but then came back to beat the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys.

[46] This record earned them second place in the NFC North, behind the Chicago Bears,[47] with whom they split victories in the regular season.

[55] 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.

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.

"[74][75] Notwithstanding his rejection of the criticism of his heavily run-dependent strategy McCarthy relinquished play calling duties to long-time assistant Tom Clements in February 2015.

[77][78] 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.

"[2] After McCarthy was released as Packers head coach, he expressed plans to interview with the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns.

[89] 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.

[91] The Jets also interviewed Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and former Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase.

During his introductory press conference to announce his hiring, McCarthy said: “I need to confess: I told Jerry I watched every play of the 2019 season.

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.

[100] 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.

[101] 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.

The experience, which McCarthy called “a good one,” involved a large camera crew filming the entirety of Cowboys training camp.

[110][111] 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.

[113] 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.

[117][118] During the 19–3 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.

[120][121] McCarthy dealt with other injuries from key players including safety Jayron Kearse and left tackle Tyron Smith.

[124][125] 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.

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.

[149] In 2013, McCarthy partnered with Curly's Pub at Lambeau Field (now 1919 Kitchen & Tap) to create the "Mac Attack" burger.