NFC Notes: Bears, Cowboys, Giants

Bears

• Mike Garafolo reports that Bill Polian has been pushing for Matt Eberflus as head coach, with Morocco Brown as general manager.
• However, the Bears have been impressed by Chiefs executive Ryan Poles, who is still being strongly considered for the position. 

Cowboys

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy had a lot to explain after the team was knocked out of the playoffs during the first round and went in-depth during his press conference about the future of the team.

“We’re going to be better,” McCarthy said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “We’re going to be better just through the process. No. 1, I trust our personnel process. I think we have to give our personnel department (credit) just what we did last year to this year. The change we had on defense from a personnel and coaching staff standpoint, that’s the biggest change that I’ve ever been a part of, both the player and coaching. To pull all that together, there’s a lot of hard work and a lot of credit that goes to a number of people. I have the same confidence that we’ll do that moving forward. Now, it’s going to be a challenge. You can’t keep everybody. But that’s the era that we’re in. We’ll go through that and (we are) counting on another excellent draft class to go with the two that we have (had). You’ve got to remember, I coached the youngest team in the league for a number of years, so I have great belief in draft and development. This will probably be hopefully the first year that we can have a normal offseason program. I think with that, the combination of veterans and young players that we have, I think we definitely can take a step forward.”

McCarthy met with owner Jerry Jones and said there were “very positive conversations”  about his job security.

“I don’t put a lot into it because I know what I personally put into this,” McCarthy said. “I understand what goes on here every day. I know how to win. I know how to win in this league. I know how to win playoff games. I know how to win a championship. So, I have great confidence in that. What we’ve built here in two seasons, I feel very good about, and I think with that, you just stay true to that. I thought we were nervous to start the game. Felt it in the locker room with the team prayer. I thought we fought through that OK. Let me take the word ‘nervous’ back. It was a little angst. I think just like anything, they’re excited, they had a great week of practice. I thought the pregame was good. I just think it was the first time we were doing this as a whole. They were a little cleaner than we were at the beginning of the game. That’s just the facts. I think clearly the hard lessons that we experienced on Sunday definitely will pay forward, without a doubt in my mind.”

• Cowboys QB Dak Prescott was fined $25,000 for his postgame comments related to the officiating crew. (Adam Schefter)

Giants

• According to Ryan Dunleavy, the Giants had to interview Bills OC Brian Daboll before Sunday because if the Bills win Daboll can’t have first interviews with teams until Buffalo is done with the playoffs.
• Aaron Wilson reports Daboll, Bills DC Leslie Frazier, and former Dolphins HC Brian Flores are the names to watch in the Giants HC search.
• Bills GM Brandon Beane had high praise for new Giants GM Joe Schoen: “There’s nothing from a personnel standpoint that he hasn’t seen. Does he know every single thing about the cap? No, not yet. But what he does, he knows what questions to ask and he knows who to listen to, and who to lean on, and he’ll make the final decision.” (Art Stapleton)