Much of the discourse around the Cowboys’ head coaching vacancy has been dominated by Deion Sanders. While it remains to be seen how willing the Colorado coach and owner Jerry Jones will be to move forward with such a hire, other names are worth watching. 
Former Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is on Dallas’ interview list. He will speak with the team today before ultimately turning his attention back to the Eagles’ upcoming divisional round game. Moore vastly outranks longtime Cowboys tight end Jason Witten in terms of time spent on the sidelines, but his name has also been floated with respect to the HC gig or at least another spot on Dallas’ staff.
Taking things one step further, Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda reports both Moore and Witten are considered to have a strong chance at being hired by Jones. The former quickly transitioned from his quarterback career to the sidelines, serving as the Cowboys’ QBs coach in 2018. He was promoted to offensive coordinator one year later and held that title for four seasons. With then-head coach Mike McCarthy taking on play-calling duties in 2023, Moore moved on to the Chargers for one year before winding up in his current Eagles posting.
Philadelphia’s passing efficiency has been a talking point for much of the season, but the team’s strong rushing attack played a big role in the current run to Round 2 of the playoffs. Moore, 35, also has an interview lined up with the Jaguars today and another with the Saints tomorrow for their respective HC positions.
Witten’s “realistic shot” (as Pauline terms it) to succeed McCarthy is notable given his inexperience as a coach. The 11-time Pro Bowler retired in 2018 but wound up returning to play two more seasons before hanging up his cleats for good. Since then, his four years leading Liberty Christian School in Texas (which includes a pair of state championships) represent the extent of his coaching tenure. As NFL Network’s Jane Slater notes, Witten has been in contact with Jones recently and was set to be part of Dallas’ 2025 coaching staff in the event McCarthy had remained in place (video link).
Such a setup could very well have set Witten up as a potential successor to McCarthy, but now that the team will be going in another direction it remains to be seen what will happen on that front. Slater notes Jones’ affinity for Witten, 42, could still land him a position of some kind on the team’s coaching staff. Jumping from his current situation all the way to an NFL HC position would remain surprising regardless of how Jones views his other options.
Pauline’s sources note that Sanders is not viewed as being a true contender to land the position at this point. The Hall of Famer corner is not considered ready to handle a head coaching gig in any market, they add. If Jones agrees with that assessment, Moore and Witten’s respective candidacies will increasingly become worth monitoring.
Courtesy of PFR’s head coaching search tracker, here is an updated breakdown of where things stand with the Cowboys:
- Bill Belichick, head coach (North Carolina): Mutual interest would have existed
- Leslie Frazier, assistant head coach (Seahawks): To interview 1/20
- Kellen Moore, offensive coordinator (Eagles): To interview 1/17; strong contender?
- Robert Saleh, former head coach (Jets): To interview
- Deion Sanders, head coach (Colorado): Discussions commenced; no deal expected
- Jason Witten, head coach (Liberty Christian School): Strong contender?
Witten would be a ludicrous choice, but elderly billionaires who *definitely* aren’t slipping sure love hiring people they had already heard of twenty years ago.
The Cowboys have become a comedy of errors so a more appropriate choice than Witten might be Leon Lett.
A bad OC and a high school coach are in the running? Good luck ‘Boys fans.
It sorta feels like reverse Rooney Rule. Everyone knows he wants D Sanders, but has to interview some white dudes.
I don’t think JJ wants a head coach around who demands more of the spotlight than him.
It doesn’t matter who they hire to be Jerry’s next puppet, they’re not gonna win the Super Bowl next year, but they’ll still sweep the Giants…
That’s all they’re gonna do.
The next coach will be Kellen Moore. Someone Jerry Jones can shove around, hire and fire Kellen’s assistants, and meddle all he wants with no push back.
Dave Wannstedt said on Chicago radio that McCarthy left because JJ would not let him have autonomy over his own coaching staff. JJ has to play with his toy moreso than any other owner. This is why the Cowboys will never win another Super Bowl in JJ’s lifetime.
How many white guys can one owner hire as head coach before it’s fair to comment about it? Especially if he hires a white guy with no coaching experience?
Did the Cowboys learn no from watching Jeff Saturday coach the Colts? Beloved players with no coaching experience do not make strong head coach candidates.
“Pauline’s sources note that Sanders is not viewed as being a true contender to land the position at this point. The Hall of Famer corner is not considered ready to handle a head coaching gig in any market, they add. If Jones agrees with that assessment, Moore and Witten’s respective candidacies will increasingly become worth monitoring.”
In what world is Witten considered more ready to handle a NFL head coaching job than Sanders? Not that I think Sanders should get the job but at least he has HC experience at a P5 school.
Three seasons at the FCS level is also significantly more experience than Witten.