Cowboys Expected to Interview Defensive Mind for Head Coach

DALLAS, TX— The Dallas Cowboys have started their search for the next head coach.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the Cowboys are expected to interview former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh for their recently vacated head coaching position.

Saleh’s career started with the Houston Texas in 2005 when he was hired as an intern. The next year, he was a defensive quality control coach. In 2009, he was promoted to an assistant linebacker coach.

In 2011, he spent three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks as a defensive quality control coach and won a Super Bowl with the team in 2013.

After a short stint in Jacksonville as a linebackers coach, he was named the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers in 2017. There, he helped the 49ers to a 13-3 record and advanced to another Super Bowl where they lost, 31-20, to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Saleh was hired as the Jets head coach in 2021. He was considered one of the better defensive minds in the NFL and one of the better hires that offseason.

In 2021, the Jets drafted Zach Wilson out of BYU with the second overall pick and went 4-13. In 2022, the Jets improved to 7-10. Then in 2023, the Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers.

In the first game of that season with Rodgers under center, he was injured in the first game and the Jets went 7-10 again.

In 2024, Saleh was fired on Oct. 8, following Week 5.

Saleh isn’t the only coach that has come up since the Cowboys fired former head coach Mike McCarthy on Monday.

Former Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has had his name pop up several times but, at the moment, he is on the Eagles’ staff, and they are currently in the playoffs, so the Cowboys cannot interview him. Moore has familiarity with the team as he was with the Cowboys from 2018 to 2023.

Moore was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers on Jan. 30, 2023, as an offensive coordinator, then by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 offseason in the same role.

Also, it has been reported that Cowboys Owner and General Manager Jerry Jones has spoken with NFL Hall of Famer and currently Colorado head coach Deion Sanders about the head coach position. Sanders does not have NFL coaching experience but has experience at the college level as the head coach of Jackson State and Colorado.

In three seasons at Jackson State, Sanders had a 27-6 record overall. At Colorado, where he brought his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, and Travis Hunter, Sanders has a 13-12 overall record.

One of the things to consider when thinking about Deion is the buyout from Colorado, which is reported to be around $10 million. 

NFL's Jane Slater reported that Jones spoke with current Liberty Christian high school head coach Jason Witten in recent weeks when McCarthy was on staff. Witten and the Warriors won their second state championship in a row this past season. 

Other candidates that could move up to head coaches are the obvious ones like Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

Despite the seeming unwillingness to spend money on free agents, the Cowboys do have playmakers on the team that could be enticing to coach. Dallas has Dak Prescott at quarterback and regardless of what "fans" think about Prescott, he is one year removed from an MVP caliber season in 2023. (He also has a no-trade clause in his mega contract, the same contract that would give the Cowboys over $100 million in dead money next season.) The new head coach will also have one of the best receivers in the league in CeeDee Lamb, and one of the best defensive players in the NFL in Micah Parsons. 

With the current players and the 12th overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft, the Cowboys could improve the offense by either adding Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty to the backfield or give Lamb a running mate at receiver in Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan or Missouri's Luther Burden III.

Should Saleh take the job, he could push the Jones family to pair Parsons up with Penn State's Abdul Carter, should he fall, Georgia's Jalon Walker, or Texas A&M's Nic Scourton. 

In 2022, the Jets and Saleh drafted Cincinnati cornerback Sauce Gardner and Ohio State's Garrett Wilson, who were both NFL Rookies of the Year that season. With NFL record setter DaRon Bland coming up on his contract, the Cowboys could take Michigan's Will Johnson or Notre Dame's Benjamin Morrison. 

One thing is certain when it comes to the Cowboys, it is sure to be a circus.