Mike McCarthy stayed at Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' house during interview process, per report

Jori Epstein | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Mike McCarthy not the safe pick, but smart one for Cowboys SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Mike Jones breaks down why Mike McCarthy may be exactly what the Cowboys need in a new head coach.

The Cowboys waited a full week to part ways with Jason Garrett after their 8-8 season ended.

Less than a day later, according to multiple reports, they secured their replacement.

Thirteen-year Packers coach Mike McCarthy interviewed with Dallas over the weekend, per multiple reports, even as Garrett retained his title. When the interview spilled over from Saturday to Sunday, McCarthy spent the night at Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ home, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

When Jones announced Sunday he would not renew Garrett, he insisted the Cowboys coach of the last decade “is, and always will remain, a cherished member of the Dallas Cowboys family.”

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After the Cowboys’ final game of the season, Jones said Garrett “has been a long-term, very important, pleasant part of my life. … We’ve had that kind of life together.

“When I lay my head down at night and get up in the morning, I know how it’s going to be as far as what he is as a person.”

Now, it appears, Jones felt comfortable enough with McCarthy to let his new coach lay his head down at the Jones residence.

McCarthy, who also interviewed with the Browns, Giants and Panthers, went 125-77-2 in 13 seasons with the Packers. He won 10 playoff games in that span, Green Bay twice beating the Cowboys in the divisional round. Dallas hasn’t reached an NFC Championship Game, much less a Super Bowl, in 24 years. McCarthy led the Packers to a Super Bowl in the 2010 season in none other than the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

That playoff success is where Garrett failed, three times winning the division but only twice winning a playoff game in 10 seasons. That prompted Jones to seek change.

“I make changes, and I certainly can see myself making a lot of changes in a lot of areas,” Jones said after the Cowboys’ final game of 2019. “Just the times call for that. I am about change. I change a lot.”

So, now, has the Cowboys coach.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein.