FRISCO – Details are trickling in about the exact future of Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, the most notable of which is this: The Chicago Bears want to interview him and have submitted a request to Dallas to do so.

And now Dallas has declined that request.

The coach is about to be a free agent on January 14, with a window from now to then during which other teams can court him if given Dallas’ permission.

But that permission in this case has been denied.

What does that mean?

McCarthy “absolutely” wants to stay with the Cowboys under the terms of an extension. Meanwhile, agent Don Yee is trying to create a bidding war … and maybe that’s why the Bears tried to get involved.

Does the Cowboys block mean they are committed to keeping McCarthy and extending him? A source tells us it does not, but that rather, the in-house discussions here at The Star about the 2024 season and the 2025 season are on-going.

We at this time do not have indications that there have been talks in earnest between the team and the coach about anything beyond that.

Meanwhile, this action conflicts with what we’ve called Jones’ “unofficial response” to the question of what he’d do if McCarthy wants to talk to other teams …

“I’d say, ‘Go talk,’ Jones said pleasantly. “I don’t want anybody here who doesn’t want to be here.”

Again, that’s “unofficial.” But if Jones truly feels that way?

He might as well stamp it “official.”

Or hustle over to McCarthy’s office here at The Star right now and close a deal.

And yet … as of Tuesday evening, that is not what is yet happening.

“I’m not trying to play a guessing game with anybody,” Jerry said on Sunday night. “We’ve got real work to do.”