By SCHUYLER DIXON, AP Pro Football Writer

A person with direct knowledge of the agreement says the Dallas Cowboys and Mike McCarthy have reached a deal for the former Green Bay coach to succeed Jason Garrett.

McCarthy was a graduate assistant at Fort Hays State University from 1987 to 1988. He was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs' coaching staff under Marty Schottenheimer from 1993 to 1998.

McCarthy interviewed over the weekend before the Cowboys had officially announced that Garrett wasn't returning. Garrett had an expiring contract coming off a make-or-break season that ended with Dallas missing the playoffs for the sixth time in his nine full seasons. 

The 56-year-old McCarthy won a Super Bowl with the Packers on the Cowboys' home field nine years ago.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1578325127989.png" alt="Former Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy. Photo by Thomas J. Grant, Skaneateles, NY, USA. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mike_McCarthy_(TJG).JPG">Creative Commons license</a>" />
 <figcaption>Former Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy. Photo by Thomas J. Grant, Skaneateles, NY, USA. <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mike_McCarthy_(TJG).JPG">Creative Commons license</a></figcaption>
 </figure>By SCHUYLER DIXON, AP Pro Football WriterA person with direct knowledge of the agreement says the Dallas Cowboys and Mike McCarthy have reached a deal for the former Green Bay coach to succeed Jason Garrett.McCarthy was a graduate assistant at Fort Hays State University from 1987 to 1988. He was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs' coaching staff under Marty Schottenheimer from 1993 to 1998.McCarthy interviewed over the weekend before the Cowboys had officially announced that Garrett wasn't returning. Garrett had an expiring contract coming off a make-or-break season that ended with Dallas missing the playoffs for the sixth time in his nine full seasons. The 56-year-old McCarthy won a Super Bowl with the Packers on the Cowboys' home field nine years ago.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Brett Favre on Mike McCarthy: &quot;I think any young Quarterback would like him and he is very understandable.&quot; •Career 135-85-2 •Playoffs 9 out of 13 years •Helped develop young Aaron Rodgers •Self scouted himself during his off year<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Browns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Browns</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Giants?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Giants</a> <a href="https://t.co/990l46UnNQ">pic.twitter.com/990l46UnNQ</a>&mdash; Hogg (@HoggNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoggNFL/status/1213480715154841600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><figure>
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AP: Former FHSU graduate assistant will be next Cowboys head coach