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Cowboys to interview Aaron Whitecotton, Zach Orr, Jonathan Gannon for defensive coordinator job

January 12, 2026

Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr on the sidelines before a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The Dallas Cowboys are adding three more names to their defensive coordinator interview list.

Dallas is set to speak with in-house defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton, Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr, and former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, sources confirmed to DLLS on Monday.

Add former Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon to the list https://t.co/kSbGQpWfPt
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) January 12, 2026

CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones first reported the Whitecotton interview.

Whitecotton joined the Cowboys last offseason after spending four years (2021–24) as the New York Jets’ defensive line coach. The Jets ranked within the top 12 in team sacks in his final three seasons in New York.

His arrival in Dallas also reunited him with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, whom the Cowboys acquired from the Jets in a November trade.

Whitecotton’s role expanded late in the 2025 season after defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who has since been fired, moved up to the coaches’ booth for the final three games.

With Eberflus upstairs, Whitecotton was tasked with handling in-game defensive adjustments from the sideline.

Orr was named the Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2024 after beginning his coaching career in Baltimore as a defensive analyst in 2017.

He spent the 2021 season as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ linebackers coach before returning to the Ravens in 2023 as their inside linebackers coach, a move that helped set the stage for his promotion one year later.

Despite a down year defensively in 2025, Orr ran a defense that ranked top 10 against the run in the past two seasons and, in 2024, ranked top 10 overall as a unit, as well as ninth in scoring.

Orr also brings a playing background, having spent three seasons (2014–2016) with Baltimore as a linebacker, and was a DeSoto High School and University of North Texas product.

Gannon will be the first former head coach to interview for the job.

He most recently served as the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach from 2023-25, compiling a 15-36 record before the sides parted ways following the 2025 regular season after Arizona finished 3-14.

Before his stint in Arizona, Gannon spent two seasons (2021-22) as the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator. His 2022 unit ranked eighth in the NFL and helped power the Eagles to a trip to Super Bowl LVII.

Dallas recently completed interviews with Vikings defensive pass game coordinator/DBs coach Daronte Jones, Broncos assistant head coach/defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard, and Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda.