Finding the next Cowboys head coach

The Dallas Cowboys have climbed aboard the head coaching merry-go-round, letting Mike McCarthy’s contract end like a Dak Prescott roller coaster. Here at BGN, we want two things in life: to see the Eagles succeed, and to see the Cowboys fail. But iron sharpens iron (not a factual statement), having a competitive NFC East is good for the Eagles, it forces them not to be complacent. So I want to be generous and help the Cowboys with their head coaching search. It’s not unusual in the NFL to have outsiders consult on top-level hires, and I’m accessible and affordable.

Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. The Jerry Jones era has had its share of ups and downs, history tells us that the highs can be repeated and the lows avoided if they stick to a formula that has worked for them. What the Cowboys need is a winner. The head coaches of the Jerry Jones era make that clear.

• Jimmy Johnson won a national championship with the University of Miami. Winner. Of course, he won two Super Bowls with the Cowboys.
• Barry Switzer won three national championships at the University of Oklahoma. Winner. He also won a Super Bowl with the Cowboys.
• Chan Gailey won a Division II championship with Troy State. Winner. He is the only head coach in Cowboys history to never miss the playoffs and the only head coach in Cowboys history to never have a losing record.
• Dave Campo had never been a head coach when the Cowboys hired him. Not a winner. He went 5-11 in each of his three seasons and is the only coach in Cowboys history to have a losing record for their Cowboys career.
• Bill Parcells won two Super Bowls with the Giants. Winner. The Cowboys went to the playoffs in his first season and he had three winning seasons in four years, bringing the Cowboys out of the dark days of the Campo era.
• Wade Phillips failed as Broncos head coach and as Bills head coach. Not a winner. He was fired midway through his fourth season.
• Jason Garrett had never been a head coach. Not a winner. In nine full seasons, Garrett missed the playoffs six times.
• Mike McCarthy won a Super Bowl with the Packers. Winner. McCarthy is the only coach in Cowboys history to win 12 games in three straight seasons.

Not every coach who showed up to Dallas, already a winner, had great success with the Cowboys, but crucially every trainer that came along who wasn’t already a winner had no real success.

The Cowboys need a coach who already has a championship ring, they can’t risk hiring an up and coming assistant like Ben Johnson. In this era of the NFL, it would help if this coach has been on the forefront of offensive innovation. And they need a head coach who will keep them the focus of talking head shows, because to Jerry Jones, any attention is good attention.

Cowboys should hire Urban Meyer.