It took until the 11th hour, but when Monday rolled round, we finally had resolution on the future of Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys. The two sides agreed to part ways with less than 24 hours until McCarthy would become a free agent.
That means the Cowboys — the most valuable in professional sports — need a new head coach for the third time in the last 15 years.
As Jones said after the season finale loss to the Washington Commanders, “anything is possible,” when it comes to the immediate future of the Dallas Cowboys.
Let’s track and make note of all the potential candidates and rumors about where the Cowboys could turn. Below is an updating list of information on the Cowboys’ coaching front.
Interviews
Brian Schottenheimer
DLLS Diehards have known since this past weekend that Schottenheimer could be a dark horse for the job.
Well, things developed quickly from there. Schottenheimer quickly went from surprise to the newest betting favorite. He then parlayed that into an interview on Tuesday. It was reported Tuesday morning that he would get one. By the end of the afternoon, he had it.
Why would the Cowboys want to give Schottenheimer, the offensive coordinator from the previous staff, his first head coaching job?
The Cowboys, and specifically the Joneses, are familiar with Schottenheimer. History would tell us that’s something the Joneses value significantly when it comes to their coaching searches.
There’s also the question of how much Schottenheimer was allowed to do as an offensive play caller the past two seasons. McCarthy, not Schottenheimer, was the play caller for the Cowboys the last two years. In 2023, with a healthy Dak Prescott, the Cowboys had the top scoring offense in the regular season. A step forward was anticipated, but with two rookie offensive linemen and a running back committee, the Cowboys took a step back offensively in the beginning of the season — even when Prescott was healthy.
There’s intrigue in Dallas about what Schottenheimer could do if he was the main play caller.
Schottenheimer interviewed on Wednesday and Thursday for the Cowboys’ head coaching job and is considered the front runner.
Kellen Moore
The potential favorite to land the Cowboys’ head coaching job is officially on the list.
The Cowboys are expected to interview Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. The interview will be Saturday and, per league rules, be virtual with a three-hour limit because Moore and the Eagles are still in the playoffs.
Moore will be a busy man this weekend. He’ll also interview with the New Orleans Saints and the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend, according to NBC Sports.
Moore makes a lot of sense. The former Cowboys quarterback and offensive coordinator is still close with the Joneses. He has a history with quarterback Dak Prescott.
Our Jesse Holley reported on Thursday that Moore is already calling people about a potential coaching staff.
Robert Saleh
The first candidate is known. The Cowboys are expected to interview former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh later this week.
Saleh is expected to interest elsewhere, too. Saleh interviewed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday. He also interviewed with the San Francisco 49ers for their defensive coordinator position.
Saleh, for what it’s worth, also fulfills half of the Rooney Rule requirement for the Cowboys if he officially interviews. Don’t consider this a throwaway news item, however.
A source familiar with the Cowboys’ thinking mentioned Saleh as someone the Cowboys would potentially have interest in early in the process.
Saleh finished with a 20-36 overall record before he was fired during this past season. On the surface, that’s not great. Saleh’s tenure, however, was also filled with a lack of quality quarterback play paired with a tough defense.
The Jets never had an offense finish better than 24th in points and in yards. The defense finished top-five in yards allowed three of the four years he was on staff.
In Dallas, he’d have the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL and the second-highest paid receiver to go with a defense that features a pass rusher who will soon, likely, be the highest-paid NFL player.
It feels like a different situation for a coach looking for a second chance.
Leslie Frazier
The second interview has reportedly been scheduled. The Cowboys are expected to request Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier for an interview, according to ESPN.
Frazier was the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2010-13. He finished with a record of 21-32-1. He went to the playoffs once in Minnesota.
Frazier hasn’t had another head coaching job since then. He’s worked with the Baltimore Ravens, the Buffalo Bills, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s been with the Seahawks for one season.
Frazier, 65, made it known last year in an interview with CBS that he wanted another chance at being a head coach. The Cowboys are expected to be his first head coaching interview of this cycle.
“I want to be able to be a part of this hiring cycle. I would love to be able to interview with an owner or organization for one of the head coach vacancies,” Frazier told CBS in Jan. 2024. “And I’m basing it on my past experience as a head coach who took a team to the playoffs, the success I’ve had in the NFL as a coordinator. And hope that would warrant me that opportunity. That’s the goal, that’s my hope, that I’ll be included in this cycle and have a chance to interview with one of the organizations that has an opportunity.”
Of note: if the Cowboys conduct interviews with Saleh and Frazier in person, it’ll satisfy the Rooney Rule requirements by the league, allowing the Cowboys to hire any candidate from there on.
Rumor Mill
A late candidate? (Jan. 23)
The Cowboys, as first reported by The Star-Telegram, had an informal conversation about the head coaching job with former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. Other reports said that the conversation with Carroll also included conversations about his former play caller, Brian Schottenheimer, who has interview twice with the Cowboys for their head coaching job.
Carroll’s history speaks for it self. He’s one of three modern head coaches to ever win both a Super Bowl and a college football national championship. The other two were both former Cowboys coaches: Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer.
Mystery candidate revealed? (Jan. 23)
The Dallas Cowboys, as of this point, have only interviewed four people. Could there be another interview in the cards? As of now, that hasn’t been the case.
That doesn’t mean the Cowboys haven’t had some varying level of interest in other people, however.
Dallas, per a source, has had some level of interest in Green Bay Packers special teams coach Rich Bisaccia. He’s another person with familiarity with the franchise and the Jones family in particular. He was the Cowboys’ special teams coach from 2013-17.
Is the interest enough to warrant an interview? That remains to be seen, and is perhaps unlikely, considering the fact that the Cowboys just spent two days, and nearly 10 hours, interviewing offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Bisaccia has been a head coach before. He went 7-5 as the interim head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021.
Wild cards? (Jan. 17)
I wrote on Thursday about how the Cowboys’ coaching search is starting to become more clear. Could dark horses still exist, however?
ESPN’s Adam Schefter appeared on the Pat McAfee show on Friday and mentioned that the Cowboys could take their time with their search because they have candidates that might not fit the mold of other coaching searches. Schefter offered two examples: Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenhiemer and Washington Commanders run game coordinator Anthony Lynn.
A source told DLLS on Monday that the Joneses have high regard for Schottenheimer.
Could that be as a potential head coach? Play caller? Quarterback coach? That’s not known, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Cowboys attempt to retain him.
A waiting game? (Jan. 17)
The Dallas Cowboys’ coaching search appears to be heating up — or is it? Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News suggested that the Cowboys could wait until mid-February to make a coaching decision. The reasoning for the long wait would be for the chance to interview Detroit Lions coordinators Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson.
As we’ve mentioned before, when it comes to Jones’ thinking on the next head coach, anything is possible. So a potential wait for two of the most notable candidates shouldn’t be ruled out, either, barring them accepting a job between now and then.
It also isn’t a great strategy, as we examined on Friday on the DLLS Cowboys podcast.
More Deion (Jan. 16)
WFAA-TV’s Ed Werder reported a new development in the potential interest between Jerry Jones and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. Per Werder, Sanders would “almost certainly” take the Cowboys job, and that Jones is “enamored” with the idea.
That would appear to be an acceleration from the original talk between Jones and Sanders, as well looked at below.
We discussed Sanders once again on Thursday on the DLLS Cowboys podcast.
A Prime Candidate? (Jan. 13)
Jones and Deion Sanders have had a relationship for quite some time. They’ve talked for years as Sanders has risen up the coaching ranks, going from Trinity Christian High School, to Jackson State, and now to Colorado, where he’s been for the last two seasons.
It makes sense, now that Sanders has risen so much, that he and Jones would talk about the ultimate prize.
Sanders and Jones, according to multiple reports, have discussed the Cowboys’ head coaching opening and will remain talking. The news was first reported by FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz.
Of note: no interview has been scheduled yet with Sanders.
And a follow-up question: will one ever?
Sanders, according to The Boulder Daily Camera, has a buyout of $8 million if he leaves Colorado this year. In theory, that might not seem like much for a NFL franchise to pay, but Jones has proven to be fiscally conscientious when it comes to his head coach. Jason Garrett — twice — and McCarthy both ran out their contracts before ultimately leaving, allowing the Cowboys the luxury of paying only one head coach at a time.
That, alone, paints doubt on Dallas ever actually moving forward with Sanders. Add in the fact that his son, Shedeur, is expected to be a first round pick quarterback this season, and a future with Sanders as the Cowboys’ head coach — at least in the immediate future — seems unclear, at best.
But a reminder: anything is possible, as Jones said. And if some of the names tossed around early by sources familiar with the Cowboys’ thinking are to be believed, then things could get interesting before we have a decision.
This post will be updated
