Jerry Jones is sure to spark wild rumors

On By Littum

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Here is the search for the next coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

Good luck, prospects. Mike McCarthy gave it a shot, but in five years couldn’t take the franchise any further in the pursuit of championship glory than his predecessors — including Jason Garrett, Wade Phillips and Bill Parcells — so they’re starting over.

Of course the drama gets thick. This is Jerry Jones’ team after all. After a week in limbo as Jones and McCarthy attended meetings to review another season that turned to dust and project the future, it ended Monday with McCarthy, 61, becoming a coaching free agent and another key job hitting The NFL landscape.

Wanted: Head coach for an underperforming team. Lots of exposure attached to the NFL’s most valuable franchise. High salary comes with many perks. Must be willing to operate in the shadow of the league’s highest profile owner (and GM). Tremendous pressure to produce the storied franchise’s first Super Bowl berth after a 29-year drought (and counting). Last word on personnel moves? Forget it. Comes with foundational talents Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons…and serious salary cap issues. Don’t forget the fan tours at team headquarters. They come with the culture.

There’s a healthy debate about how coveted the job will be for top coaches — if you caught on Cowboys legend Troy Aikman’s take on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” pregame show, there is considerable doubt about it — but someone has to do it.

Despite the perceived drawbacks, the Cowboys job is underway to mega stage — “just the big room,” is how Parcells described the lure of coming out of retirement for the 2003 concert — will be enticing enough as one of only 32 in the league.

McCarthy brought his Super Bowl resume, but despite getting the best of Prescott and winning the locker room, the clock ran out. Don’t forget that the Cowboys (7-10 in 2024, after three consecutive 12-5 campaigns) played McCarthy tough down the stretch, and everyone but Prescott, ended midseason with a hamstring injury. The compliments from Jones in recent weeks didn’t ensure that the coach, who publicly expressed his desire to return, wasn’t valid leads after all.

In many ways, the course seems to have been set for McCarthy a year ago when the Cowboys suffered arguably the worst playoff loss in franchise history at the hands of the Green Bay Packers. It also looked to some extent that McCarthy was set up to fail after his contract was not renewed last year. The Cowboys signed Prescott and Lamb to top-market extensions, but they weren’t finalized until just before the start of the season and the latter part of training camp, respectively, fueling drama. Even worse, the Cowboys had a miserable time of it during free agency — for example, Derrick Henry wanted to play for Dallas, where he has a home, but didn’t even get a call to the Cowboys, with Jones claiming they couldn’t afford it to him.

And look at Henry now. The Cowboys sure could have used him.

McCarthy ultimately could not deliver the championship run that has eluded the Cowboys since the mid-1990s, when the franchise last played in an NFC title game. That his final, injury-plagued unit was less talented than the earlier groups offered no mercy.

The idea that Jones couldn’t find a better coach on the market now needs to be proven as McCarthy, who was kept in check last week when Jones declined the Chicago Bears’ request to interview him, will interview with…the Bears .

But who fits with the Cowboys now?

It’s almost a given to expect that Kellen Moore, the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, would be a consideration. Moore, who switched from Prescott’s backup quarterback to begin his coaching career with the Cowboys, was thought so highly of Jones that McCarthy inherited Moore as the handpicked coordinator and play-caller when he took the job in 2020. Then again, Moore left by a due in 2023, and his first year with the Eagles — boosted by Saquon Barkley’s phenomenal season — has contained so many questions about the viability of the passing game.

Then there are the Detroit Lions coordinators, Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. Every team with an opening has targeted these two critical pieces to Detroit’s ability to capture the No. 1 seed. 1 in the NFC playoffs. Pushing the buttons for a creative offense that the Cowboys foiled during an October route, Johnson is a hot name on the market for the third straight season. Glenn’s stock, meanwhile, has soared as his defense has persevered despite massive injury losses, including the broken fibula and tibia that Pro Bowl defensive end Aidan Hutchinson incidentally suffered in Dallas. There’s also a familiarity factor with the high-energy Glenn, who played cornerback under Parcells for two seasons with the Cowboys.

Timing, however, may inhibit Dallas from pursuing any of the coaches still in the playoffs. According to NFL rules, interviews with coaches from existing playoff teams cannot be conducted until their team is eliminated – or after the Super Bowl. Had the Cowboys parted ways with McCarthy last week, however, they could have had virtual interviews with top prospects under one window last week. Still, the possibilities can’t be ignored — even if the Cowboys are behind the eight ball because the process of cutting the cord with McCarthy dragged on.

Yes, it’s Jerry’s team. Thus, you can never rule out the possibility of a stunning move that shocks the NFL landscape.

Hello, Coach Prime?

Multiple reports surfaced Monday saying Jones has already spoken with Deion Sanders about the job, with the Colorado coach later confirming the connection. Follow along.

One thing is certain: Sanders could certainly handle the big stage. And given his years with the Cowboys during his Hall of Fame journey (including a Super Bowl ring), there’s no doubt a connection with Jones. Shoot, no one is better equipped to handle the Cowboys’ circus-like environment than Sanders, whose rise over two seasons in Colorado has constantly prompted questions about whether he’ll eventually coach in the NFL.

Sanders has apparently softened his earlier stance of not wanting to coach at the professional level. He recently maintained that he would be open to the idea if he could coach his sons, star quarterback Shedeur and safety Shilo. With Prescott receiving a massive contract extension in September that makes him the NFL’s highest-paid player, it’s a stretch to expect Shedeur Sanders would end up with the Cowboys. Still, a report last week in the Las Vegas Journal-Review maintained that Sanders has some interest in the Raiders’ vacant job. If he wanted to consider the Raiders, why not the Cowboys? Especially if he is flexible about the quarterback. And Sanders still has a home in the Dallas area, by the way.

In any case, Jones has maintained — at least going back to Sanders’ tenure at Jackson State — that he saw the Hall of Famer as a potential NFL head coach.

Other things to consider: Would Jones step into the college ranks and try to lure Steve Sarkisian from Texas? Would he ditch the NFL and go after Jon Gruden, despite the former coach’s lawsuit against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell? Would he call the Pittsburgh Steelers and inquire about trading the demanding but well-respected Mike Tomlin?

With Jones, you just never know. Remember, he entered the NFL in 1989 with a shocker when he replaced the legendary Tom Landry with Jimmy Johnson, and it worked. So when he parted ways with Johnson in 1994, he brought in another college coach, Barry Switzer.

Did you hear the one about Jason Witten? Fans have been making a lot of noise on the Internet, suggesting the team is pursuing the Hall of Fame-certified former tight end, who has started his coaching career and coaches his son at Liberty Christian High School in Argyle, Texas.

Maybe Witten can become the next Coach Prime or the next Dan Campbell, tight end-turned-coaching star. Check back in 10 years.

With the current crisis, the Cowboys have a sense of urgency that just can’t wait.

Follow USA TODAY Sports Jarrett Bell on X @JarrettBell.