After five years, three playoff appearances and just one postseason victory, the Dallas Cowboys have moved on from head coach Mike McCarthy. After protracted negotiations and a process that included the Cowboys denying another team permission to interview McCarthy less than a week before cutting ties with him themselves, Dallas is now in the market for a new head man.
Armed with a strong roster led by top talent at quarterback (Dak Prescott), wide receiver (CeeDee Lamb), edge rusher (Micah Parsons) and cornerback (DaRon Bland), Dallas should be able to attract a top coaching candidate. But things are never simple with the Cowboys, because Jerry Jones doesn't operate the way other owners operate.
With that in mind, we are sorting the potential coaching candidates for this job into three different buckets, and examining which of them may make sense for the various reasons that need to be considered when it comes to this organization.
Regular coaching search candidates
- Lions OC Ben Johnson
- Lions DC Aaron Glenn
- Ravens OC Todd Monken
- Vikings DC Brian Flores
- Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver
- Bills OC Joe Brady
- Buccaneers OC Liam Coen
Among the names on this portion of the list, Glenn might be the most likely. He is both a serious candidate and has ties to the Cowboys organization, having played there under Bill Parcells in 2005 and 2006. Glenn has done a great job with Detroit's defense (and New Orleans' before that), and the Jones family loves itself a familiar face.
The other candidates here hold varying degrees of intrigue. Johnson is considered arguably the top candidate on the entire coaching market, and he can probably have his pick of any available opening save for the Patriots job that has already been filled. Will Dallas actually open up the checkbook to get him? That remains to be seen. Brady and Coen are similar candidates, but probably not as costly because they don't have the several years of hype behind them. And then Monken is kind of what those guys would be if they were in their 50s instead of their 30s or 40s.
Flores washed out of his first head-coaching job in spectacular fashion, and also sued the league over its minority hiring practices. He has been an elite defensive coordinator, though, and could get another shot soon. Weaver was already thought of as a potential head coach during his time in Baltimore before moving on to Miami this past season, and he did well there. The Cowboys have also never had a Black head coach, which is something to at least keep in mind here. (It would also apply to Glenn.)
Jerry Jones will make sure they are candidates
- Eagles OC Kellen Moore
- Cowboys DC Mike Zimmer
- Former Cowboys TE Jason Witten
- Former Cowboys DB/Colorado HC Deion Sanders
- Former Panthers/Washington HC Ron Rivera
- Washington OC Kliff Kingsbury
There is nothing that Jerry Jones loves more than a connection to the Cowboys, or to the Jones family. Moore played for the Cowboys and was the team's quarterbacks coach and then offensive coordinator for several years. Zimmer was the team's defensive coordinator in the 1990s and then again this past season. Both Witten and Sanders played for the Cowboys, obviously.
Some of those guys are more serious candidates than others. Moore has been a candidate for several jobs before and, with the exception of his one year with the Chargers, his offenses have been quite good. Sanders is at least a head coach of a major college program. (Jerry would hate having Deion as the coach, even if only because Deion's press conferences would draw attention away from Jerry.) Zimmer was out of the league for several years before this season and is now 68 years old, and Witten hasn't coached above the high school level. Jones, though, has compared Witten to Dan Campbell.
Rivera and Kingsbury don't fit the Cowboys ties mold, but they do fit other things Jones likes: Rivera is a known commodity and won't outshine the owner, and has a track record of making his teams at the very least respectable. And Kingsbury would allow him to steal a coordinator from both a division rival and a former Cowboys assistant coach in Dan Quinn. Plus, Kliff has Texas ties with his experience at both Texas A&M and Texas Tech. Jerry loves those Texas ties.
Outside-the-box candidates
- Texas HC Steve Sarkisian
- North Carolina HC Bill Belichick
- Steelers HC Mike Tomlin
Speaking of Texas ties, there's Sarkisian. He's a former NFL offensive coordinator, who has also spent time at Washington, USC, Alabama and most recently with Texas. His team just went to the College Football Playoff semifinals and played its game in AT&T Stadium, which Jerry Jones loves. (There is zero doubt in my mind that McCarthy having won his Super Bowl in that stadium played a role in his getting the Cowboys job.)
Belichick is the most famous and arguably best coach in the history of football. Sure, he took the UNC job. But Jones has the money to pay the buyout, if he wants. And what would make a bigger splash than hiring the guy in the hoodie? It's also a bonus that Belichick has very little public personality, which would allow Jones to continue being the guy who does most of the talking.
The Steelers seem like they're stuck in a rut. Would trading Tomlin allow them to break out of it? It doesn't seem that crazy.
