Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys interviewed Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier for their head coaching vacancy after parting ways with Mike McCarthy, according to the DallasCowboys.com's Tommy Yarrish.

Frazier served as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2011 to 2013, initially taking over as interim head coach for Brad Childress in 2010. He remained with the team for the next three seasons, finishing with a 21-33-1 overall record.

Frazier recorded the biggest single-season turnaround in Vikings history after his 2011 finished 3-13 and he turned around the next year with a 10-6 record. Frazier finished fourth in NFL Coach of the Year Award voting that season, per Yarrish.

The 65-year-old coach has spent the majority of his career as a defensive coordinator, spending time with Cincinnati, Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Buffalo.

Frazier spent five years in the NFL from 1981 to 1985 as a cornerback. Undrafted out of Alcorn State, he was signed by the Chicago Bears and recorded 20 interceptions in his career, including two returned for touchdowns, with 343 total yards.

In addition to Frazier, former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore have also interviewed for the vacancy.

Despite speculation about the Cowboys potentially hiring Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday that the team is not expected to interview Sanders for the position.

No interview is scheduled, as Rapoport stated it would "be surprised, probably very surprised, if something did in fact get scheduled."

This comes after Dallas owner Jerry Jones reached out to Sanders for an unofficial conversation about the head coaching job that Sanders called "intriguing."

"To hear from Jerry Jones is truly delightful, and it's intriguing," Sanders told ESPN's Adam Schefter at the time. "I love Jerry and believe in Jerry. After you hang up and process it, and think about it, it's intriguing. But I love Boulder and everything there is about our team, the coaches, our student body and the community."

The Cowboys finished the season with a 7-10 record, placing third in the NFC East under former head coach Mike McCarthy.

ESPN's Adam Schefter believes former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is a "legitimate candidate" to coach either the Chicago Bears or New Orleans Saints in 2025.

"I think he's in play in New Orleans, I think he's been in play in Chicago. I think he's a legitimate candidate in both places," Schefter said Monday on the Pat McAfee Show.

Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reported the Saints are looking to set up an interview with McCarthy this week:

McCarthy coached the Cowboys for five seasons before he and the organization announced they would be parting ways last week. The Cowboys got off to a 3-4 start in 2024 before losing Dak Prescott to injury and eventually missing the postseason.

Schefter's comments follow reports that McCarthy is facing competition for the jobs in both Chicago and New Orleans.

The Bears announced last Wednesday the team had completed an interview with McCarthy. According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, he was flown in to the interview on a private plane in "a departure from previous team protocol."

However, Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz added recently that the Bears' head coaching decision is "a two-horse race" between McCarthy and Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported last Tuesday the Saints are expected to interview McCarthy "early next week," although there was not yet a "firm date established."

NFL insider Josina Anderson wrote the same day that the Saints didn't "have urgent interest" in McCarthy, and described the upcoming talk as a "due diligence interview."

The Saints are meanwhile bringing in Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for a second interview on Wednesday, according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.

The Lions coordinators are reportedly also speaking with other teams after their team's upset elimination from the Divisional round last weekend. Whichever decision Johnson and Glenn make going forward could impact McCarthy's options for his next job.

The Dallas Cowboys are currently one of six NFL teams looking for a new head coach, and that comes down—at least partially—to the mismanagement of the Mike McCarthy situation after letting him coach the 2024 season as a pending free agent.

Albert Breer of SI.com offered more on McCarthy's side of the coin, between not receiving an extension offer before the season to the contract talks after it:

For his part, McCarthy didn't complain about any of it. In talking with him over the summer, and again in the fall, he kept saying that this wasn't much different than having a pending free agent in a prominent role on your team—it just so happened that, in this case, the contract-year person in question was the head coach. But, as I've heard it for a few months, the way it was handled didn't sit well with McCarthy, or the members of his staff looking ahead at their own uncertain futures. Then, in the days leading up to the Jan. 14 expiration of McCarthy's contract, my understanding is that while there was discussion, there was no real negotiation.

Whether the Cowboys should have brought McCarthy back isn't necessarily the main issue at play. During his time in Dallas, he led the team to a 49-35 record and three playoff berths in five seasons but won just one playoff game and showed little indication that he could get the Cowboys over the hump. There was a basis for moving on.

But the lack of decisiveness after the season cost the Cowboys eight days to interview other coaching candidates around the league, namely the assistants on the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs, and also prevented McCarthy from interviewing elsewhere. It was a situation that was undeniably mishandled by team owner Jerry Jones.

A change of scenery probably was in the best interest for both parties. But some breakups are handled better than others.

The Dallas Cowboys have interest in a pair of NFC East offensive coordinators as they look to replace former head coach Mike McCarthy.

"Wouldn't be surprised if they had interest and put in a request to speak with [Washington Commanders offensive coordinator] Kliff Kingsbury," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted on Sunday. ".. Certainly I know that is someone they have at least some interest in potentially exploring."

As for Philadelphia Eagles' offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network noted he had a "good interview with Dallas and expects to be firmly in the mix."

He also noted that team owner Jerry Jones is interested in bringing Jason Witten aboard as a member of the team's coaching staff and it could potentially be under Moore if the Cowboys go that route.

Of the three men mentioned, Kingsbury is the only one with head-coaching experience at the college or NFL level.

He spent six seasons as the head coach of Texas Tech (2013-18), going 35-40 with a trio of bowl appearances. He then served as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals between the 2019-22 seasons, going 28-37-1 with one postseason appearance.

The 45-year-old has been considered a bright offensive mind throughout his coaching career, with stops as the offensive coordinator for Houston, Texas A&M and the Commanders. This season, Washington and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels ranked fifth in scoring and seventh in yards, and the team has reached the NFC Championship Game after upsetting the NFC's top-seeded Detroit Lions on Saturday.

Moore, 35, will be hoping to see him there. The first-year Eagles' offensive coordinator oversaw a unit that ranked seventh in points and eighth in yards behind a fantastic rushing attack headlined by Saquon Barkley.

Previously, he served as the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys (2019-22) and Los Angeles Chargers (2023). His offenses have ranked top-10 in points and yards in three separate seasons.

Finally, the 42-year-old Witten spent 16 of his 17 NFL seasons with the Cowboys, putting together a future Hall of Fame career. Since retiring after the 2020 season, he's spent time coaching Liberty Christian High School in Argyle, Texas, winning a pair of state titles. There have been reports that Jones initially planned to groom Witten as a future head coach under McCarthy, but those plans were dashed when McCarthy and the team couldn't come to terms on a new contract.

As Jane Slater of NFL Network reported last week, ""it's been my understanding that Jones has talked to Witten in recent weeks, and I do believe that he was part of a plan that Jones initially had when he was going to bring back McCarthy. I think the plan there was to make him an heir apparent of sorts."

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday that the Cowboys and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders aren't expected to hold a formal interview, though team owner Jerry Jones and Coach Prime had talked regarding the Cowboys' head-coaching vacancy.

"Nothing scheduled yet with Coach Prime," Rapoport said. "I'd be surprised, probably very surprised, if something did in fact get scheduled."

On Saturday, NFL reporter Josina Anderson provided one reason why a formal interview may not be the route the Cowboys and Sanders go for the time being, even if there remains mutual interest:

It is very possible that Sanders is simply leveraging Colorado for a significant pay raise, a time-honored tradition among college coaches. And there has been reporting that Colorado has already offered Sanders an extension, though Coach Prime may be seeking an even more lucrative offer and using the reported interest from Dallas to help get it.

As for the Cowboys, the team has already interviewed former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, while they are also expected to interview Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier on Monday.

The team parted ways with Mike McCarthy this offseason after a disappointing 7-10 record. In McCarthy's five seasons the team reached the playoffs three times but won just one postseason game.

In some respects, the Dallas opening is an appealing one for prospective head coaches. The team is one of the NFL's most famous franchises and currently sports a number of talented players, led by Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons.

But the team is also something of a circus under the ownership of Jones, who also insists on a hands-on approach as the team's general manager, which has caused friction with head coaches in the past. And the roster, while top heavy with star power, has serious holes throughout that were exposed in 2024.

Would someone like Sanders want to take that all on? That remains to be seen. For now, however, it seems like a return to Colorado is more likely.

Aside from Detroit Lions fans, no other fanbase was more angry than the Dallas Cowboys' to see the Washington Commanders reach the NFC title game.

Beyond the fact the Commanders are a division rival with a head coach who was on Dallas' staff last season, their victory meant the Cowboys now have the longest conference championship drought of any NFC team.

That fact wasn't lost on people. It's particularly damning of the Cowboys because the Commanders were one of the NFL's most mediocre and dysfunctional franchises not that long ago.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been the one common denominator during a barren stretch that extends for nearly 30 years.

Hiring Jimmy Johnson as head coach in 1989 was a masterstroke that resulted in two Super Bowl titles and indirectly led to a third. Since then, Jones has been steering the ship into iceberg after iceberg and fans are fed up.

The Cowboys are guaranteed of having a new coach next season after Mike McCarthy's contract expired, but their followers won't be too optimistic that anything improves.

The roster isn't in a great place. Quarterback Dak Prescott is coming off a season-ending injury, his second in five years. And there's Jones looming over everything.

Organizations with bad ownership situations can overcome that on the field. The Cincinnati Bengals, routinely a punching bag under Mike Brown, reached the Super Bowl in 2021 and advanced to the AFC title game in 2022.

But there's no question Jones' presence is to the detriment of the Cowboys as they try to achieve their sizable ambitions.

What head coach Dan Quinn has achieved with the Washington Commanders this year hasn't been lost on at least one prominent player from his last stop.

The Commanders upset the Detroit Lions 45-31 on Saturday to advance to the NFC title game. That prompted Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis to marvel at Quinn's work after leaving Dallas:

Quinn was the Cowboys defensive coordinator for three seasons before leaving for Washington last offseason. The Commanders' 12-5 record and playoff run is leading many to ponder what could've been if Dallas had fired Mike McCarthy and promoted Quinn from DC.

Those fans also see the contrast between the Cowboys' and Commanders' fortunes in 2024 as reflective of wider issues for Dallas:

Even when the team seemingly does something right, in this case moving on from McCarthy, owner Jerry Jones still somehow comes out looking ill-prepared at best and inept at worse.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported on her Scoop City podcast (via RJ Ochoa of Blogging the Boys) that Jones was expecting McCarthy to sign a new contract. The Cowboys "did not have a plan in place" for the event he left.

Jane Slater of NFL Network added that Jones had thrown around the idea of retaining McCarthy with the long-term goal of anointing former tight end Jason Witten as the "heir apparent of sorts."

It's hard to call McCarthy's tenure in Dallas a success. One postseason victory in five years doesn't cut it for a franchise and fanbase that have such high expectations every season. But coaching was far from the only problem and arguably not the biggest for the Cowboys.

Maybe giving Quinn the reins would've been a better choice instead of making McCarthy a lame duck heading into the 2024 campaign. But Quinn also would've had to navigate through the same organizational morass and work with the same roster that McCarthy did.

When the buck ultimately stops with Jones, the coach can only do so much to paper over the cracks.

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is considered "a name to watch closely" for the Dallas Cowboys head coaching vacancy, according to Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz.

Per Schultz, a league source mentioned that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones holds Glenn "in especially high regard."

Dallas is looking to bounce back from a 2024 season in which it finished at 7-10 before moving on from former head coach Mike McCarthy.

The Cowboys announced that McCarthy wouldn't be returning to the team on Monday, with the timing impacting their ability to pursue Glenn.

Schultz previously reported that by waiting to part ways with McCarthy, Dallas is unable to interview Glenn as well as Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson until after Detroit's season comes to a close.

The fourth-year defensive coordinator is one of the top candidates during the current hiring cycle. Glenn has already interviewed with the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders. He also turned down a request from the New England Patriots before the team eventually hired Mike Vrabel.

Before Glenn took over as Detroit's defensive coordinator ahead of the 2021 season, he previously spent five years as a defensive backs coach with the Saints and two years as a defensive backs assistant on the Cleveland Browns.

The Texas native also played in the NFL for 15 years, spending two seasons with the Cowboys in 2005 and 2006.

The Lions' defense has continued to improve under Glenn, owning the No. 7 scoring defense in the league by allowing just 20.1 points each week during the 2024 regular season.

The Cowboys could be willing to wait for Detroit's season to end before pursuing Glenn, as he appears to be high on their list of preferred candidates.

Having already waited an extra week after the end of the 2024 season to decide Mike McCarthy wasn't going to return as head coach, the Dallas Cowboys aren't operating with any sense of urgency to interview replacement candidates.

Appearing on the Saturday morning edition of SportsCenter (starts at 1:40 mark), ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the Cowboys don't have "formal" requests out to speak with candidates currently employed by teams beyond the people they have already interviewed.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirmed the Cowboys haven't scheduled talks with Sanders and added he'd "be surprised if an interview ever happens."

Cowboys fans have their sights set on Deion Sanders after speaking with Jerry Jones earlier this week. Coach Prime confirmed to ESPN's Adam Schefter his conversation with Jones.

Despite that brief encounter between Sanders and Jones, there are some key hurdles standing in the way of a potential deal if that's the direction the Cowboys want to go. Chief among them being Sanders having a $10 million buyout in his contract with Colorado that Schefter has said is not "insignificant" for Dallas.

Another potential hurdle, per NFL Network's Jane Slater, is that Jones is "not really high" on paying big money for a full coaching staff and asked McCarthy to reduce the number of assistants (starts at :55 mark).

There has also been speculation that Jones wants to bring in assistants to the staff for his new head coach. NFL insider Ed Werder reported there is a "high probability" that former Cowboys tight end Jason Witten will be included on the new coaching staff.

Werder noted the Cowboys discussed bringing in Witten on McCarthy's staff, but McCarthy pushed back against it. Witten has been coaching in the high-school ranks since 2021 at Liberty Christian School in Texas, leading the program to back-to-back state titles in 2023 and 2024.

The three candidates the Cowboys either have interviewed or are scheduled to interview thus far include Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh—who interviewed on Saturday—and Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier.

Given that Jones has shown a propensity for hiring former Cowboys players to be coaches—Jason Garrett had a 10-season run as head coach including his eight-game interim stint in 2010—the name that stands out among that initial trio of candidates is Moore.

Moore spent his last three seasons as a player with the Cowboys from 2015 to '17, then retired to become their quarterbacks coach in 2018. He spent four seasons as their offensive coordinator from 2019 to '22.

The Cowboys parted ways with McCarthy on Monday after the two sides were unable to agree to terms on a new contract. They finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs this season for the first time since 2020.

Jerry Jones' unwillingness to break the bank for a head coach could be a major obstacle for the Dallas Cowboys if they want to pursue Deion Sanders.

Appearing on Friday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show (starts at :45 mark), ESPN's Adam Schefter noted that Sanders' $10 million contract buyout with Colorado is not an "insignificant" hurdle for the Cowboys.

After the Cowboys and Mike McCarthy parted ways on Monday when they were unable to agree to terms on a new contract, Sanders spoke with Jerry Jones that same day.

Coach Prime confirmed his conversation with Jones to Schefter, calling it "truly delightful" and "intriguing" to hear from the Cowboys owner.

Paying coaches top-of-the-market money isn't something Jones has really ever shown much of an inclination for. He did attempt to trade for Sean Payton in 2019 before the New Orleans Saints decided against it.

Other than that brief interest in Payton, the coaches Jones has hired since Bill Parcells retired after the 2006 season include Wade Phillips, Jason Garrett and McCarthy. Garrett's post-Cowboys career included two seasons as offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, but he's been out of the NFL since 2022.

Phillips had a terrific run as defensive coordinator for three different teams after being fired by the Cowboys midway through the 2010 season. He won a Super Bowl as defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos in 2015.

Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein described Jones as being philosophically opposed to "paying for services he's not receiving" and valuing the "market price of players more honestly than the market price of coaches."

Sanders, in addition to his buyout, would likely command a significant contract to become head coach of the Cowboys. His current deal with Colorado pays him $29.5 million over five years, which makes him just the fifth-highest-paid head coach in the Big 12. That total doesn't include the money he is able to make from outside projects, including a weekly talk show and a documentary series.

Jones has the ability to entice Sanders to the NFL because the Cowboys are the highest-profile team in the league, but the total cost to make a deal happen might lead the two sides down separate paths.