The Cowboys are the Jones family. Any new coach will know the pecking order. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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

Pointing this out will, of course, 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 rusted-over Disney World, pining for an owner who can at least pretend to take things seriously and prioritize the appearance of professionalism over ESPN debate show–style entertainment. The other is from a group of bizarre sycophants who seem to always believe that Jones is playing some version of three-dimensional chess (that 30-year gap between Super Bowls, of course, being part of the long game) and are fans of the money he makes and does not share with them.

Regardless of whether the breakup with McCarthy was because Jones wanted to make it look like McCarthy quit (when in reality McCarthy rightfully wouldn’t accept a new deal below industry standard) or because Jones was truly stunned when someone finally had enough to walk away from the Cowboys, it matters little. Dallas is now, at minimum, two weeks behind a half dozen other NFL franchises that have already poured hundreds of hours (and probably hundreds of thousands of dollars) into their head coaching searches. 

I’d like 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 the pair, according to NFL Network “couldn’t agree on the length of the contract.” So, Jones, again, was prepared to bring back a coach he was not confident enough in to pay industry standard. As a Cowboys fan, keep that in mind. Jones again falters in his quest to appear “all in.” Those are two different instances of blatantly failing to put the best team on the field (or the best coaching staff to manage it on the sideline).

Let’s break down all the components here: 

In short, mostly. Dallas still has an elite edge player (Micah Parsons), an elite quarterback (Dak Prescott), an elite wide receiver (CeeDee Lamb) and the bones of a solid secondary. In terms of pure talent, it’s probably the best job. In terms of the extraneous attributes floating around the team, it’s 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 salesperson and a showman and have the patience level of a single parent five times over. They are also going to have to have the interpersonal skills of a saint while dealing with a stable of star players whom Jones will wait until the absolute final bleeding second to pay (above market value, oddly, because of the waiting).

The Cowboys are the Jones family, so a coach hoping to come in and put their own stamp on the franchise will be constantly reminded of the pecking order. Dallas has three picks in the top 100, but is only expected to be about $11 million under the cap at the start of the 2025 season (before any sort of cuts or restructures, and Dallas has a handful of high-profile players who will either not be back next year or back at a highly discounted rate). 

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

Before the start of the coaching carousel, I ended nearly every phone call requesting anyone with knowledge of a serious Jones–Deion Sanders reunion to give me at least three weeks’ notice in order to mentally prepare (and purchase much stronger Canadian headache medication). 

And while that connection has yet to be established, I do wonder whether 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 an awful lot like being the head coach of the Cowboys—in fact, it’s probably the collegiate equivalent. There are so many responsibilities that are CEO-like and so much required finesse to handle a massive, international fan base and billion-dollar brand. 

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

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

Otherwise, Dallas will search for what the team almost always looks for. A coach who is powerful but not too powerful. 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, desires true equal-footing alignment with the front office, something no Cowboys coach has had since the fall of the Berlin Wall. 

Riley was a top candidate the last time this job was open / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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, personnel executive, Denver Broncos 

Each one of these coaches has some kind of string attached to Jones. Shaw works with former Cowboys DC Sean Payton now in Denver. Sarkisian is making a name for himself nearby in 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’s most famous and noteworthy players ever. 

I can’t imagine Jones would pass up the opportunity to generate attention by not interviewing at least some of these candidates. Even putting in the ask on Sanders would create a news cycle full of takes and opinions as deep and as wide as the Pacific. Jones understands what makes dolts like me have to run to a computer and start writing about his product. 

• Bill Belichick, head coach, North Carolina

Belichick was heavily linked to Jones during last year’s cycle, when the Cowboys opted not to make a change, and he has always been complimentary in public 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 about what Jones could have forked over for Derrick Henry in 2024). This would be a major move that would satiate multiple 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 wins record as much as Jones needs him to win another Super Bowl.

• Aaron Glenn, defensive coordinator, Detroit Lions

Let’s say McCarthy now pushes to the forefront 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’s a lot to like about his candidacy. 

• Joe Brady, offensive coordinator, Buffalo Bills

If Brady somehow gets boxed out—which seems increasingly unlikely the better Buffalo looks in the postseason—he could end up in Dallas. Brady has Payton ties, which are important to consider, along with experience in big-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 been tremendously (and almost instantly) successful in the NFL. His offense this season was incredible, becoming the only offense since 2000 with at least 28 points per game, six yards per play, a 65% or better red zone rate, a 50% or better third-down conversion rate. This is one out of 798 total offenses in that time. Jones understands that offense sells, and, assuming Ben Johnson would not want to deal with the headache of Dallas, Brady and Coen are the signal-callers behind the NFL’s best and most entertaining units at the moment. 

Kingsbury is a former head coach who oversaw Jayden Daniels’s rookie season in Washington. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

• 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 one of these names is somehow connected to Jones. In this particular category, we’re highlighting former coaches with head chair experience, which may be something of a prerequisite for Jones at this point in his life. Remember that McCarthy was supposedly Jones’s give-me-a-Super-Bowl-before-it’s-too-late candidate, bringing with him some Lombardi Trophy gravitas. Most of these coaches had success at the NFL level with bad quarterback play—save for Kingsbury and depending on how you want to label Deshaun Watson now that we have a larger sample size on his career. Flores and O’Brien have Belichick ties, while Kingsbury made his name at Texas Tech. 

• Something way out of left field

With Jones, one never knows. 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 I expect to contain one or two names that represent complete and total curveballs. To me, Jones has just about uncovered the algorithm and he will play this moment in time for all its worth.