As the NFL season surges towards the Super Bowl, the head coaching position for the Dallas Cowboys remaind unfulfilled.
The franchise’s former head coach, Mike McCarthy, held the position for five seasons since 2020 after he was hired to replace Jason Garrett, who was fired after the 2019 NFL season due to a disappointing 8-8 performance.
McCarthy, who was let go after a 7-10 season and missed the playoffs, left with a 49-35 record overall, a 1-3 record in the playoffs and two NFC East division titles.
Now, the Cowboys are in search of a new head coach. Since McCarthy was let go so late into the cycle ,the Cowboys must wait to interview coaches on playoff teams as the deadline to request to interview them was last week. However, coaches working for teams that get eliminated from the playoffs are eligible to be interviewed for the position. Candidates such as Ben Johnson, the offensive coordniator of the Detroit Lions, is considered by many to be best coaching candidate in the market this year. The Lions o offense was ranked No. 1 this year for points per games and yards. The Cowboys must wait until the Lions’ season is over to interview Johnson, which puts them at a disadvantage.
Dallas has already put in many interview requests for people such as Robert Saleh, the head coach of the New York Jets from 2021 to 2023, who was let go after a 2-3 start to the season. At press time, he is expected to be interviewed by the Cowboys on Jan. 18. They have also put in a request to interview Eagles’ offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. He has ties with the Cowboys. Moore played for them from 2015-17. He was the quarterback coach in 2018 then was promoted to be the offensive coordinator in 2019 and was let go in 2022. Moore has led an efficient offense in Philadelphia, which helped Saqoun Barkley to lead the league in rushing. He rushed for over 2,000 yards even with Barkley missing a game.
The Cowboys have also planned an interview with Leslie Frazier, Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach. Frazier has not been a head coach since 2013 when he coached the Minnesota Vikings from 2011 to 2013, displaying a 21-32-1 record which led to one playoff appearance in 2012, which they lost.
The Cowboys also have major interest in Deion Sanders, who has coached Colorado since 2023 is considered to be one of the favorites. Sanders has said that he would almost certainly take the coaching job if he were to be offered the job by Jerry Jones. Sanders and Jones have had a very close and respectful relationship. Sanders played for Dallas from 1995 to 1999 before leaving for Washington.
The Cowboys are expected to interview multiple candidates and not rush their head coaching search. In 2020 they only interviewed two coaches, McCarthy and Marvin Lewis to satisfy the Rooney Rule. It NFL teams to interview a minority candidate.
The Cowboys are expected to have their new head coach no later than the Super Bowl on February 9.
