Ramon Chinyoung

Cowboys Finalize 2025 Coaching Staff

February 16th, 2025 at 10:51am CST by Ely Allen

The Cowboys replaced former head coach Mike McCarthy with in-house candidate Brian Schottenheimer. Despite the consistency of Schottenheimer remaining from last year, the handling of the coaching contracts by owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones caused many staffers to explore opportunities elsewhere in the NFL, forcing Schottenheimer to build a mostly new coaching staff. The Cowboys announced their finalized staff on Friday, and though many of the hires Schottenheimer has made we’ve already reported on, we’ll list every hire in this post.

On offense, we were already made aware of the hires of offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, pass game specialist Ken Dorsey, running backs coach Derrick Foster, offensive line coach Conor Riley, and assistant wide receivers coach Tiquan Underwood. We were also aware that former offensive assistant Steve Shimko had been promoted to quarterbacks coach. and that tight ends coach Lunda Wells had been retained to the same role.

We had heard rumors that the team had been working to retain assistant quarterbacks/game management coach Ryan Feder and assistant offensive line/quality control coach Ramon Chinyoung, but Friday’s announcement confirmed that both will remain in slightly different roles. Feder will serve in 2025 as solely game management coordinator and Chingyoung as solely assistant offensive line coach.

The new offensive hire news from the announcement is the additions of Junior Adams as wide receivers coach and Dele Harding in a quarterbacks fellowship. Adams is making his NFL coaching debut after spending the last 17 years coaching at the collegiate level, most recently as (co-)offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Western Kentucky, Washington, and Oregon. Harding, a former linebacker at Illinois, began his coaching career after he finished playing at his alma mater. He spent a year as a defensive assistant for the Texans in 2022. He’s also been a fellow in the past for the Colts and Browns.

On defense, we were already made aware of the hirings of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi, defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton, and assistant defensive line coach Bryan Bing. We’ve also posted on the hirings of Andre Curtis, David Overstreet, and JJ Clark, but clarifications have been made about their roles. We initially reported that Curtis would serve as defensive pass game coordinator, which is true, but he will add safeties coach to his title, as well. Similarly, we reported Clark in a quality control role, but he will also have the title of defensive assistant. Overstreet was initially reported as assistant defensive backs coach, while the Cowboys’ announcement lists him as secondary/cornerbacks coach.

Overstreet will work alongside Darian Thompson, a quality control/assistant linebackers coach for the team last year who was retained as the new secondary/nickels coach. Lastly, former Rams and Jets defensive tackle Tanzel Smart has been hired as a defensive assistant/quality control coach, like Clark. Smart last appeared in a game in 2023 and was cut from the Jets at the roster cut deadline in August.

Both special teams roles, coordinator Nick Sorensen and assistant coach Carlos Polk were already reported.

There we have it: the Cowboys 2025 coaching staff. Schottenheimer doesn’t get the benefit of familiar faces on staff after Jones’ handling of the contracts, so a mostly new staff has been built. We’ll see what the new staff can do in 2025 after a down, injured year last season.

Cowboys Address Mike McCarthy Firing Delay; Team Extends Will McClay

January 29th, 2025 at 10:17am CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys have taken plenty of heat for their decision to delay Mike McCarthy‘s ouster only to circle back and promote his two-year OC. Brian Schottenheimer is now the Cowboys’ HC, rising to a top job despite not interviewing for one anywhere else over the past decade.

Labeling this hire “a risk, not a Hail Mary,” Jerry Jones said the Cowboys’ delay in separating from McCarthy came from knowing the team had Schottenheimer as an option, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer and NFL.com’s Jane Slater note. The Cowboys did not part ways with McCarthy until a week after Black Monday.

Because no other team was connected to Schottenheimer, it also stood to reason the Cowboys could have waited and conducted a more thorough search — rather than meeting with just three external candidates (Robert Saleh, Leslie Frazier, Kellen Moore). Jones indicated (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota) he did not feel he needed to meet with higher-profile candidates like Ben Johnson or Aaron Glenn due to Schottenheimer having a better understanding of the Cowboys’ current setup. This stance will certainly be criticized due to the Cowboys coming off a 7-10 record and refusing to extend McCarthy.

Moving quickly did keep Schottenheimer off the coordinator market, but the veteran staffer had not been connected to any OC jobs elsewhere, either. Jones also said Schottenheimer received plenty of support from players. Dak Prescott is among them, indicating (via Cowboys.com) his new head coach “means a lot to me.” Prescott stumped for McCarthy during the season’s second half, but the Cowboys are taking a half-measure of sorts by keeping his coordinator on. Prescott and Schottenheimer’s good relationship is believed to have been a key driver for this unexpected promotion.

Jones had said McCarthy talks never moved into true negotiations, but the sides are believed to have discussed contract length. That was viewed as a hang-up, and McCarthy has since bowed out of the Saints’ HC search. He will not coach in 2025. Meanwhile, a staffer he hired despite being tied to the Urban Meyer Jaguars season will replace him in Dallas.

Schottenheimer, 51, did not call plays during his OC stint but confirmed (via All DLLS’ Clarence Hill) he will next season. The second-generation NFL coach called plays for the Jets, Rams and Seahawks previously. The Jets and Seahawks, respectively, fired Schottenheimer, whose St. Louis departure came when he accepted the Georgia OC job in 2015. But Russell Wilson‘s second half of his Seattle stay may well be what secures him Hall of Fame entry; Schottenheimer was calling the shots for that period, which featured three top-nine Seahawks offenses.

The Cowboys are expected to retain several of McCarthy’s assistants, Archer adds. Assistant QBs coach Ryan Feder and assistant O-line coach Ramon Chinyoung are likely among them, as they attended Schottenheimer’s introductory presser. The team is also aiming to keep tight ends coach Lunda Wells, per Hill, who adds other teams are also interested in hiring him. The Cowboys recently met with Kerry Joseph about the QBs coach position, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones notes. Joseph served as the Bears’ QBs coach last season, having followed Shane Waldron to Chicago. Prior to Waldron’s Seattle stay, Joseph began his Seahawks stint under Schottenheimer as an offensive assistant in 2020. Previous QBs coach Scott Tolzien is not expected to stay under Schottenheimer.

Meanwhile, no plans to add Jason Witten to this year’s staff are in place, according to The Athletic’s Jon Machota. Witten had been loosely rumored as a potential HC candidate, despite only having high school coaching experience, and also loomed as someone Jones was interested in bringing in for a non-HC role — as a potential promotion loomed down the line — but it does not sound like the former Cowboys Pro Bowl tight end will be part of Schottenheimer’s first staff.

Lastly, the Cowboys have agreed to terms with one of their cornerstone staffers on an extension. VP of player personnel Will McClay is sticking around on a multiyear deal, Archer reports. This is not especially surprising, as McClay has been choosey with his GM interviews in recent years and is now in his third decade with the Cowboys.

The Commanders, Chargers and Panthers showed interest last year, but McClay withdrew his name from consideration. Rather than pursue a GM role, McClay has said in the past he is happy where he is in Dallas. While Jones heads up Dallas’ personnel department as the team’s de facto GM, McClay has been essential to the team’s blueprint by providing impact draft picks.

McClay has headed up the Cowboys’ scouting department since 2014 but has been with the Cowboys since 2002. McClay has helped identify the likes of Zack Martin, Ezekiel Elliott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons and Tyler Smith as All-Pros from Round 1. Prescott also arrived as a fourth-rounder on McClay’s watch. While Jones’ moves with veteran personnel have drawn considerable scrutiny, McClay’s ability to bring in top-caliber talent via the draft has been vital to the Cowboys’ mission.

Coaching Notes: Cards, Kingsbury, Chargers

February 14th, 2023 at 9:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mentioned as a candidate to reunite with Sean Payton, Mike Zimmer also may be under consideration for another reunion. Jonathan Gannon, one of Zimmer’s original hires with the Vikings back in 2014, appears to have the veteran coach on his radar for his Cardinals staff, Howard Balzer of gophnx.com tweets. Eagles linebackers coach Nick Rallis also may be on Gannon’s radar to head to Arizona, per Balzer. Gannon spent four seasons on Zimmer’s Minnesota staff, working as the Vikings’ assistant defensive backs coach. Rallis, 29, was on Zimmer’s Vikes staff from 2018-20, before joining the Eagles. It will be interesting to see if Zimmer, 66, has multiple options to return to an NFL post.

As for Gannon’s Cardinals staff as a whole, some of Kliff Kingsbury‘s assistants are in limbo. Vance Joseph and others have not been informed of their future with the Cards, Josina Anderson of CBS Sports tweets. Joseph was initially a candidate to replace Kingsbury and interviewed for the job, but the four-year Arizona DC did not reach the finalist stage.

With all five HC positions now filled, here is the latest from the coaching ranks:

Back from Thailand, Kingsbury has now met with multiple teams. After interviewing for the Texans’ OC post, the four-year Cardinals HC met with the Ravens. The sides discussed an unspecified staff position, Anderson tweets. This Sunday interview of sorts did not produce an agreement. Kingsbury is still in line to collect considerable cash from his 2022 Cardinals extension, but the Texans and Ravens hired others — Bobby Slowik, Todd Monken, respectively — to run their offenses.
Staying in Baltimore, Monken will have input in how the next Ravens offensive staff looks, per Anderson. The Ravens, as should be expected given their situation, followed through with their pledge to involve Lamar Jackson in the OC search as well (Twitter links). Monken, who collected two national titles while at Georgia, last coached in the NFL as the Browns’ OC in 2019.
Justin Herbert‘s 2023 brain trust will consist of ex-Cowboy staffers. After hiring Kellen Moore, the Chargers are adding Doug Nussmeier as quarterbacks coach, Dianna Russini of ESPN.com tweets. Nussmeier, an OC at five college programs from 2008-17, was with the Cowboys for five seasons — the past three as QBs coach. The 52-year-old assistant had multiple offers for 2023 NFL gigs, per Russini (on Twitter).
As the Broncos cycled through head coaches over the past several seasons, they kept Zach Azzanni in place. A Joseph hire back in 2018, Azzani stayed on as wide receivers coach under Vic Fangio and Nathaniel Hackett. Azzanni interviewed with both the Bills and Jets for the AFC East clubs’ respective wide receivers coach roles over the past two days, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes (on Twitter). While these meetings could signal Payton has other plans for this job, Pelissero adds the Broncos could still retain the highly regarded position coach to work for a fourth HC.
The Broncos will lose one of their quality control staffers to the Cowboys. Ramon Chinyoung is leaving Denver to become Dallas’ assistant offensive line coach, per 9News’ Mike Klis (on Twitter). The Cowboys are also hiring Will Harriger as an offensive assistant, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. Harriger, who spent last season as a USC assistant, has worked with both Brian Schottenheimer and Dan Quinn. Harriger previously served as the Seahawks’ assistant quarterbacks coach from 2016-18 and later was part of Quinn’s Falcons staff.
Shortly after the Broncos interviewed Rex Ryan for their DC job, the ESPN analyst’s son is in the mix for a title bump. The Jets requested an interview with Seth Ryan for their wide receivers coach position, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). A third-generation NFL coach, Seth is currently the Lions’ assistant receivers coach. Just 28, Ryan has an NFL assistant for four seasons. He has been with the Lions for the past two. Although Azzanni is also in the mix for this Jets job, Seth Ryan working for his father’s former team is on the radar.

AFC Coaching Notes: Chargers, Steelers, Jaguars

February 15th, 2022 at 10:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Al Golden is leaving Cincinnati after all. The Bengals coach is joining Notre Dame as their new defensive coordinator, reports ESPN’s Pete Thamel (on Twitter). Golden is inking a three-year deal with the school.

The 52-year-old had spent the past two seasons with the Bengals as the team’s linebackers coach. Following a successful 2021 season, Golden was expected to ink a new deal with Cincy. Instead, he’ll be heading back to the college ranks.

Golden spent almost two decades in the NCAA, including stints as head coach at Temple and Miami. He joined the NFL in 2016 when he was hired as the Lions tight ends coach, and he eventually switched over to the defensive side of the ball in 2018.

More coaching notes out of the AFC…

The Chargers are looking to hire Brendan Nugent as their offensive line coach, as Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com passes along. Frank Smith left to become the Dolphins offensive coordinator, leaving a vacancy on the LAC staff. Nugent had spent the past seven years with the Saints, earning the promotion to OL coach in 2021.
The Steelers have also been seeking a new OL coach, and Brooke Pryor of ESPN tweets that the team is hiring Pat Meyer for the role. Meyer spent the past two seasons as the Panthers offensive line coach, and he also served in that role with the Chargers. The 49-year-old has also had coaching stints with the Bills and Bears.
Richard Angulo is heading south. The Ravens assistant offensive line coach is joining the Jaguars as their new tight ends coach, reports Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic (on Twitter). The former player had been coaching in Baltimore since 2014. Meanwhile, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets that the Jaguars have finalized deal with Deshea Townsend as defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach. Before his three-year stint as the Bears secondary coach, Townsend had stints on the Giants and Titans coaching staffs.
Nathaniel Hackett continues to add to his Broncos staff. According to Wilson (on Twitter), Denver has hired Ramon Chinyoung as an offensive quality control. Chinyoung had been serving as head football coach/athletic coordinator at Willowridge High in Houston. Meanwhile, the team announced (on Twitter) that they’ve hired Derek Haithcock as assistant to head coach (Dwight Schrute?) and John Vieira as instructional designer.
The Colts are finalizing a deal with Richard Smith to be their new linebackers coach, reports Mike Chappell of FOX59/CBS4 Sports in Indy (on Twitter). Smith has had a long NFL coaching career that saw him serve as the defensive coordinator with the Dolphins, Falcons, and Texans. He’s also been on the coaching staffs for the Oilers, Broncos, 49ers, Lions, Panthers, Chargers, and Raiders.
The Jets are adding Nathaniel Willingham as a defensive assistant, reports Brian Costello of the New York Post (on Twitter). The son of former college coach Tyrone Willingham, Nathaniel Willingham worked at Stanford for four years before spending the past three seasons as a quality control coach with the Broncos.