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Ryan Feder

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 Updates: Cowboys, Bears, Vikings, Steelers, Browns

March 23rd, 2024 at 3:22pm CST by Ely Allen

The Cowboys announced a number of staff updates recently. We’ve tracked many of the initial changes to occur with the departure of Dan Quinn and a few assistants across the division to Washington, but with the staff filled out, head coach Mike McCarthy opted to hand out of few promotions.

Firstly, Al Harris, who serves as the team’s defensive backs coach has had the title of assistant head coach added to his title, per Josina Anderson of CBS Sports. Dallas had blocked Harris from interviewing for a lateral move to follow Quinn and opted to sweeten the deal after keeping him from another opportunity. ESPN’s Todd Archer tells us that, also on defense, assistant defensive backs coach Cannon Matthews has been granted the title of safeties coach for 2024, making him a full position coach.

On offense, wide receivers coach Robert Prince has added the role of pass game coordinator to his position. Likewise, Chase Haslett, previously the assistant tight ends coach, will serve as the pass game specialist next season. Lastly, game management and offensive assistant Ryan Feder has replaced “offensive assistant” in his job title with “assistant quarterbacks coach” for the 2024 season.

Here are a few other staff updates from around the NFL:

  • The Bears made a couple of adjustments to their front office recently. Vice president Corey Ruff was promoted by the organization to senior vice president of strategy and analytics and chief of staff. Chicago also hired Tanya Dreesen as the team’s senior vice president of strategy and global affairs and chief of staff, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2.
  • We’ve tracked a number of Vikings staff changes throughout the offseason, but we have a new promotion and an update to an earlier report. First, 2023’s assistant quarterbacks coach and chief of special projects Grant Udinski earned a promotion, replacing “chief of special projects” in his job title with “assistant offensive coordinator,” according to Kevin Seifer of ESPN. Udinksi will assist new quarterbacks coach Josh McCown. We had originally reported that former quarterbacks coach Chris O’Hara had been moved to pass-game specialist with McCown’s addition, but we now see that Minnesota has him listed as senior offensive assistant.
  • The Steelers will add veteran defensive assistant Anthony Midget to their 2024 staff, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN. Midget has experience as the Texans former secondary coach and most recently served as the defensive backs coach in Tennessee. After being fired by the Titans following the 2022 NFL season, Midget sat out in 2023. He rejoins the ranks of NFL coaching as the assistant secondary coach in Pittsburgh.
  • Finally, the Browns will add an intriguing young name in Nick Charlton, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Charlton made history at Maine, where he became the youngest head coach in Division I history at 31 years old. Following a three-year stint with the Black Bears, Charlton accepted the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coaching job at UConn. He’ll leave the Huskies to serve as the new offensive assistant and run-game specialist in Cleveland.

Cowboys Announce Remaining Coaching Staff Moves

February 24th, 2023 at 9:13pm CST by Ely Allen

In an offseason that threatened to take away both coordinators, the Cowboys have finalized their coaching staff for the 2023 season. We’ve reported on every staff change up to this point, but a few final updates were declared along with the final announcement.

Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn chose to remain in his current role with the Cowboys, withdrawing his name from consideration for multiple head coaching jobs around the NFL. With the departure of Kellen Moore to Los Angeles, the Cowboys promoted Brian Schottenheimer to offensive coordinator and made a few resulting staff changes.

The biggest announcement came for Jeff Blasko, who served last season for the Cowboys as assistant offensive line coach. Blasko will be taking over for Skip Peete, who was not renewed after last season, as the Cowboys running backs coach. Although running back Tony Pollard faces free agency and Ezekiel Elliott remains under contract, it is widely believed that Blasko will definitely be coaching Pollard and only possibly Elliott next season. Blasko has a history coaching offensive lines and has plenty of experience under head coach Mike McCarthy. This will be Blasko’s first opportunity working with running backs as a position coach in the NFL.

Another staffer from last year is receiving a promotion to position coach. Last year’s coaching assistant Scott Tolzien has been promoted to quarterbacks coach. The former NFL passer has moved quickly up the ranks of coaching. His first coaching role was in 2019 at Wisconsin, where he served as an analyst for the Badgers. He spent the next three years in his previous role with the Cowboys before receiving this new opportunity.

A defensive quality control coach last year for the Cowboys, Cannon Matthews is the next coaching assistant to receive a promotion, earning the assistant defensive backs coach job. Additionally, Ryan Feder switched sides of the coaching staff this offseason. After working with the defensive staff last year as a quality control and analytics coach, Feder will work in the position of game management and offensive assistant coach.

Finally, the addition of two other assistants rounds out the staff. Evan Harrington has joined the staff as an offensive assistant. Lastly, Pete Ohnegian has been hired in the role of quality control and defensive assistant. After an offseason that threatened much more change, the Cowboys have rounded out their staff with plenty of time to prepare for the 2023 season.