13 candidates Jerry Jones could consider for a cowboy job he does uniquely

And so, in the midst of a desperate search for attention, Jerry Jones has moved one step closer to becoming his dream combination of sports team owner and cartoon villain covered in toxic sludge by firing head coach Mike McCarthy two weeks after the end of the regular season (this after blocked McCarthy’s ability to interview other teams during the start of the coaching carousel).

Pointing this out will naturally elicit two very different responses. One is from a segment of the Dallas Cowboys fan base that is tired of their franchise being run like a rusty Disney World and longs for an owner who can at least pretend to take things seriously and prioritize the appearance of professionalism for ESPN debate show-style entertainment. The other is from a group of bizarre sycophants who always seem to think Jones is playing some version of three-dimensional chess (the 30-year gap between Super Bowls is part of the long game, of course) and are fans of money he serves and does not share with them.

Whether the breakup with McCarthy was because Jones wanted to make it look like McCarthy quit (when in reality McCarthy rightly wouldn’t accept a new deal under the industry standard) or because Jones was genuinely shocked when someone finally had enough to walk away from the cowboys, it means little. Dallas is now at least two weeks behind a half-dozen other NFL franchises that have already poured hundreds of hours (and likely hundreds of thousands of dollars) into their head coaching searches.

I want to note something else here that I feel is important to point out: Jones brought McCarthy back in 2024, but not on an extension. That means he brought back a coach he didn’t like enough to keep long-term (at least at the time). Then Jones and McCarthy parted ways this year because, according to the NFL Network, the pair “couldn’t agree on the length of the contract.” So Jones was once again prepared to bring back a coach he wasn’t confident enough to pay industry standard. As a Cowboys fan, you have to remember that. Jones falters again in his quest to appear “all in”. Those are two different cases of blatant failure to put the best team on the field (or the best coaching staff to manage it on the sidelines).

Let’s break down all the components here:

Is this a good job?

In short, most. Dallas still has an elite player (Micah Parsons), an elite quarterback (Dak Prescott), an elite wide receiver (CeeDee Lamb) and the bones of a solid secondary. In terms of talent, it’s probably the one best job. In terms of the alien properties floating around the team, this is probably one of the worst. I ranked them and broke them all down last week. A new head coach is going to have to love this kind of environment, love being around people all the time, love being a salesman and showman, and have the patience level of a single parent five times over. They will also need to have the interpersonal skills of a saint while dealing with a stable of star players who Jones will wait until the absolute last bleeding second to pay (above market valueoddly enough, due to the waiting time).

Cowboys is the Jones family, so a coach hoping to come in and make his own mark on the franchise will be constantly reminded of the pecking order. Dallas has three picks in the top 100, but is only projected to be about $11 million under the cap at the start of the 2025 season (before any cuts or restructuring, and Dallas has a handful of high-profile players who either won’t be back next year or back at a heavily discounted price).

Dallas has an excellent staff and has consistently found good players in the later rounds of the draft. Still, the roster has become increasingly top-heavy, and navigating it in a large market will be complicated.

Where can this search lead?

Before the start of the trainer carouselI ended almost every phone call by asking anyone with knowledge of a serious Jones-Deion Sanders reunion to give me at least three weeks’ notice to mentally prepare (and buy much stronger Canadian headache medicine).

And while that connection has yet to be established, I wonder if Jones would revisit the college market. In recent weeks, we’ve seen Iowa State’s Matt Campbell and Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman both draw interest. Former Stanford coach David Shaw has given interviews. Freeman’s advantage, I’m told, is that being the head coach of Notre Dame is a lot like being the head coach of the Cowboys – in fact, it’s probably the collegiate equivalent. There are so many CEO-like responsibilities and so much finesse required to manage a massive, international fan base and a billion-dollar brand.

There is so much sleight of hand in college football with oil-rich boosters that — just my opinion — it would make the Cowboys’ job seem a little normal.

Jones was also linked to USC’s Lincoln Riley a few years ago before hiring McCarthy. I only mention this because while an NFL coach would almost certainly take the Cowboys’ job even after Jones took his former head coach, college coaches offer Jones more leverage. Many coaches are dying to get out of the wild west of the NIL.

Otherwise, Dallas will be looking for what the team almost always looks for. A trainer who is strong but not too strong. Charismatic, but not too charismatic. The consensus top defensive-oriented candidate, Mike Vrabel, just signed a contract with the New England Patriots. The top offensive candidate, Ben Johnson, wants true equal footing with the front office, something no Cowboys coach has had since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Who are the candidates?

Let’s touch on a few individually and a few as a group.

• Steve Sarkisian, head coach, Texas; Lincoln Riley, head coach, USC; Deion Sanders, head coach, Colorado; David Shaw, Director of Personnel, Denver Broncos

Each of these coaches has some kind of string attached to Jones. Shaw is working with former Cowboys DC Sean Payton now in Denver. Sarkisian is making a name for himself near Austin as the head coach of the Longhorns. Riley, as mentioned above, was a top candidate the last time this job was open. Sanders is one of Jones’ most famous and notable players of all time.

I can’t imagine Jones would pass up the opportunity to raise awareness not interview at least some of these candidates. Even asking Sanders the question would create a news cycle full of news and opinion as deep and as wide as the Pacific Ocean. Jones understands what makes dolts like me run to a computer and start writing about his product.

• Bill Belichick, head coach, North Carolina

Belichick was heavily attached to Jones during last year’s cycle when the Cowboys opted not to make a trade, and he has always been publicly complimentary of Jones. After June 1, the buyout on Belichick’s North Carolina contract drops to $1 million (which would be less prohibitive than $10 million, or roughly what Jones could have spent on Derrick Henry in 2024). This would be a big move that would satisfy several desires for Jones: a splash move, the hiring of an established coach with Super Bowl credentials, and a coach who needs Jones to help him secure the NFL record wins straight as much as Jones needs him to win another Super Bowl.

• Aaron Glenn, defensive coordinator, Detroit Lions

Let’s say McCarthy is now pushing for the job in New Orleans, where he has strong ties and connections—or at least enough to shake the foundation of Glenn’s candidacy. Glenn is a 52-year-old Texas-born former cowboy with experience in the Bill Parcells tree. There is a lot to like about his candidacy.

• Joe Brady, offensive coordinator, Buffalo Bills

If Brady is somehow ruled out — which seems increasingly unlikely the better Buffalo looks in the postseason — he could end up in Dallas. Brady has Payton ties that are important to consider, along with experience in high-time college football. He fits the once-coveted young play-caller archetype that Jones so aggressively pursued with Jason Garrett.

• Liam Coen, offensive coordinator, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Coen is a Sean McVay disciple, and most of them have had huge (and almost immediate) success in the NFL. His offense this season was, and remains, incredible only offense since 2000 with at least 28 points per game, six yards per game, a 65% or better red zone rate, a 50% or better third down conversion rate. This is one out of 798 total offenses during that time. Jones understands that offenses sell, and assuming Ben Johnson doesn’t want to deal with the headaches of Dallas, Brady and Coen are the signal-callers behind the NFL’s best and most entertaining units right now.

• Bill O’Brien, head coach, Boston College; Matt Nagy, offensive coordinator, Kansas City Chiefs; Brian Flores, defensive coordinator, Minnesota Vikings; Kliff Kingsbury, offensive coordinator, Washington Commanders; Arthur Smith, offensive coordinator, Pittsburgh Steelers

Each of these names is connected in some way to Jones. In this special category, we highlight former coaches with head coach experience, which may be something of a prerequisite for Jones at this point in his life. Remember, McCarthy was supposedly Jones’ give-me-a-super-bowl-before-it’s-too-late candidate, which carried some Lombardi Trophy gravitas. Most of these coaches had success at the NFL level with poor quarterback play – except for Kingsbury and depending on how you want to label Deshaun Watson now that we have a larger sample size of his career. Flores and O’Brien have Belichick ties, while Kingsbury made his name at Texas Tech.

• Something out of left field

With Jones, you never know. Former Steelers legend Bill Cowher? Jon Gruden? Randy Allen (the winningest active Texas high school football coach)? Rex Ryan? Stone Cold Steve Austin? This is the one search that I expect will include one or two names that represent complete and total curveballs. To me, Jones is just about to reveal the algorithm, and he will play this moment in time for all it’s worth.