Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are still searching for an offensive coordinator to fill out head coach Brian Schottenheimer's staff. On Wednesday, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones spoke about the importance of the run game to the team, adding that the new OC must be "outstanding in the run game area."

"We want to be able to run the ball," Jones said, per team website staff writer Tommy Yarrish. "Everybody says that we want to run the ball and we want to stop the run, and certainly that's what we want to do. That's what great championship football teams do, and I know coach Schottenheimer wants to do that."

"I think it's real important that we find in this hire a coach that's going to be outstanding in the run game area."

With that in mind, it's hard to ignore some current pre-draft connections linking the Cowboys, their No. 12 overall draft pick and Boise State superstar running back Ashton Jeanty.

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com currently has Jeanty going 12th to the Cowboys in his mock draft.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. cited the Cowboys as a "common landing spot prediction" back on December 30.

"The Cowboys have been the common landing spot prediction. Team owner Jerry Jones has drafted Emmitt Smith, Felix Jones and Ezekiel Elliott with first-round picks, so there's a precedent. And even with Rico Dowdle breaking out in the second half of the season, the Cowboys rank among the bottom 10 teams in most rushing metrics and somehow have only five rushing scores (last). Dallas is projected to pick at No. 12, per ESPN's Football Power Index."

Jeanty, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, amassed 2,739 total yards and 30 touchdowns last season. He rushed for 7.0 yards per carry (2,601 yards on 374 attempts).

It's not a matter of whether Jeanty lands in the first round. It's more a discussion on where he ends up within the first 32 picks.

The latest B/R NFL Scouting Department mock draft notably has him going to the Pittsburgh Steelers just outside the top 20. The consensus mock draft via the NFL Mock Draft Database places him 12th to Dallas.

It wouldn't be a surprise to see Dallas marry Jones' comments, a presumably run-first or run-oriented OC, a run-favoring head coach in Schottenheimer and a big-time running back prospect in Jeanty or someone else.

Dallas went into the season with Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle manning the backfield, but Dowdle eventually took over as RB1. He excelled, rushing for 1,079 yards (4.6 yards per carry) and adding 249 receiving yards while scoring five total touchdowns.

Dowdle is now a free agent, though, so Dallas has a major question mark at running back right now. The Cowboys can easily fill that gap by selecting Jeanty, although the 7-10 team has issues to address on both sides of the ball and could be motivated to address another position.

One thing is clear, though: Dallas wants a strong run game, which has been a staple of this team's success in the past (e.g. Emmitt Smith, the team's RB1 during their 1990s dynasty). It's too early to see how the team will address that, but the next OC will assuredly be on board with it.

Mike McCarthy reportedly will not be the next head coach of the New Orleans Saints.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that McCarthy "decided to focus on the 2026 hiring cycle and will not coach in the NFL this season" after parting ways with the Dallas Cowboys following the 2024 campaign.

While this may have been an active choice for McCarthy, it's not as if the league left him much choice.

Dallas moved on before hiring Brian Schottenheimer, the Jacksonville Jaguars hired Liam Coen, the Las Vegas Raiders hired Pete Carroll, the New York Jets hired Aaron Glenn, the Chicago Bears hired Ben Johnson and the New England Patriots hired Mike Vrabel.

That left only New Orleans as an opening, and Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reported Tuesday that "McCarthy did not garner the interest from the Saints that he anticipated."

Schultz noted Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is "the leader in the clubhouse" when it comes to the NFC South team, although he has a Super Bowl to prepare for after helping lead his team to the sport's biggest stage.

This coaching cycle may not have gone as McCarthy hoped, but he will surely generate interest next offseason.

After all, his resume includes a Super Bowl ring, 174-112-2 overall record and 12 playoff appearances in 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and Cowboys. Making the playoffs twice as many times as missing them over that long of a stretch is quite the accomplishment, and other teams will likely notice after the 2025 campaign.

McCarthy also has an offensive background given his time as an offensive coordinator with the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers and has worked with signal-callers such as Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott.

Teams with young quarterbacks may be interested next offseason as well, so he will bide his time for now and perhaps find himself right back in interview rooms in a year.

The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly hiring former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen as their special teams coordinator, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Fowler noted the two sides are nearing an agreement on a contract. On Monday, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Sorensen was expected to be hired by the Cowboys.

The 46-year-old brings special teams experience, having served as the Jacksonville Jaguars' special teams coordinator in 2021.

Sorensen was fired from the 49ers position as reported by NBC Sports' Matt Maiocco, but the team was hoping to keep him on as an assistant on the staff as they explored other options for its defensive coordinator position.

As a former NFL player, Sorensen was a defensive back for 10 seasons from 2001 to 2010, playing for the St. Louis Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns.

Sorensen served as the defensive coordinator for the 49ers for just one season before parting ways. His coaching career began in 2013 as a special teams assistant with the Seattle Seahawks, where he later transitioned to defensive backs coach.

During the 2024 season with the 49ers, the defense ranked eighth in the league in yards allowed but struggled with keeping teams out of the end zone, ranking 29th in points allowed. This contributed to a 6-11 record, causing them to miss the playoffs after reaching the Super Bowl the previous season.

The 49ers hired former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh as their defensive coordinator last week, quickly replacing Sorensen with a familiar face who had led the 49ers' defense from 2017 to 2020.

This move came after head coach Kyle Shanahan hinted that it had been "tough" for Sorensen to adjust to San Francisco's "schemes."

"I do think people adjust to schemes, and I think you have to adjust too depending on your personnel," Shanahan said in his exit interview, per ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "And I think that was a tougher thing for us this year. Just going into the season, it was a little bit harder than past seasons and some of the injuries we had, I think, made it really tough for Nick."

Under Sorensen's guidance on special teams in addition to their new head coach, Brian Schottenheimer, the Cowboys will hope to improve on their 7-10 record next season.

As new Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer begins preparing for the 2025 season and filling out his staff, it seems as if franchise legend Jason Witten will not be coming aboard.

"Despite his name making the rounds during the Cowboys' coaching search, with a belief he'd potentially be added as a position coach in 2025, Jason Witten is not expected to join his former team in any capacity this coming season, per owner and general manager Jerry Jones—though Jones continues to praise the future Hall of Famer as a 'great coach' and mentor," the Cowboys' official website explained Monday.

Witten doesn't have NFL coaching experience, but he has found quick success in the profession at the high school level.

Last month, the former tight end led the Liberty Christian (Argyle, Texas) Warriors to a TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) Division II state championship. His team won the championship game 52-10 and completed a perfect 14-0 season where it outscored opponents 716-96 in total.

A jump from high school to the NFL might have been quite the leap, but it's hard to ignore that success.

Witten also enjoyed plenty of success as a player for the Cowboys during his 16 seasons from 2003 to 2019. He finished his career with the 2020 Las Vegas Raiders, but he is best remembered for his time with the NFC East team that included 11 Pro Bowl selections and two First-Team All-Pro nods.

He posted four seasons with more than 1,000 receiving yards and also suited up for six different playoff teams during his tenure.

Nobody in Cowboys history has more career catches (1,215) or receiving yards (12,977) than Witten, and he is also second behind only Dez Bryant (73) with 72 total touchdown catches with the franchise.

Yet it seems like Dallas is not going to add him to the coaching staff for the upcoming campaign despite his legendary status with the organization.

When the Dallas Cowboys began their head coaching search, Deion Sanders was one of the first names in the mix and was seemingly a serious candidate.

But on Monday at new head coach Brian Schottenheimer's introductory press conference, owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones had conflicting answers about Sanders' legitimacy as a candidate.

According to DLLS Cowboys' Joseph Hoyt, Stephen Jones said Sanders was a serious candidate and that both he and Jerry Jones "think the world of" Sanders. Per The Athletic's Jon Machota, Jerry Jones differed in his answer, saying that Sanders "was never a serious candidate."

When asked about his conversation with Sanders, Jerry Jones said Sanders "already has a job," via Machota.

Just hours after the Cowboys and former head coach Mike McCarthy parted ways on Jan. 13, Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz reported that Jerry Jones had spoken with Sanders about becoming Dallas' next head coach. Schultz noted that Sanders was considered a top candidate at the time, and there was mutual interest.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport later reported that Sanders and the Cowboys were still in talks, but did not plan to have a formal interview.

Sanders, now preparing for his third year at Colorado, spent five seasons with the Cowboys from 1995 to 1999, winning a Super Bowl in 1995.

It's hard to say why Jerry Jones never considered Sanders a serious candidate, but if his goal was to generate storylines, he certainly accomplished it.

Now Sanders will stick with the Buffaloes, who he made significant progress with during the 2024 season. Colorado, which went 1-11 the season before Sanders' arrival, improved from 4-8 in 2023 to 9-4 this season. The Buffs were an upset loss against Kansas away from reaching the Big 12 championship and potentially the College Football Playoff.

Had Sanders landed the job in Dallas, it would have meant leaving behind what he's built in Boulder. He'll instead get to continue leading Colorado and perhaps will be ready for his first NFL gig in a few years.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, are hoping Schottenheimer can take them to the promised land after years of disappointment. Jerry Jones clearly thinks highly of the longtime assistant if he was willing to give him his first head coaching job over candidates like Sanders.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheiemer praised quarterback Dak Prescott and envisions him leading the team to multiple Super Bowl victories.

"My vision for him is he's one of the best," Schottenheimer said at his introductory press conference on Monday, via Audacy's 105.3 The Fan. "And through the coaching that he's going to get, through the hours and hours of time that he and I will spend together, he's going to play elite-level football. And he's going to lead us to championships."

Schottenheimer was hired as Dallas' head coach on Friday after operating as the team's offensive coordinator in 2023 and 2024.

He replaced Mike McCarthy, as the Cowboys parted ways with McCarthy on Jan. 13 after his contract expired at the end of the regular season.

Following three consecutive years with identical 12-5 records, Dallas missed the playoffs in 2024 with a 7-10 finish.

Prescott started in each of the Cowboys first eight games, suffering a hamstring injury that ultimately required season-ending surgery in Week 9. He was off to a slow start prior to the hamstring issue, completing 64.7 percent of his throws for 1,978 yards and 11 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions.

The 31-year-old is reportedly a fan of the coaching hire, as ESPN's Todd Archer reported Friday that Prescott and Schottenheimer have a "good relationship" and the signal-caller "likes Schottenheimer's creativity."

Archer also noted that "there is a belief within the league that Prescott advocated for Schottenheimer."

The Cowboys' first year with their former offensive coordinator was much more successful compared to 2024, averaging a league-leading 29.9 points each week during the 2023 season. Prescott completed a career-high 69.5 percent of his passes for 4,516 yards and 36 touchdowns, finishing No. 2 in AP MVP voting.

Playoff success was hard to come by for the Cowboys during McCarthy's tenure, owning a 1-3 record in four postseason contests.

With Schottenheimer now patrolling the sidelines, he's confident that Prescott will help deliver a Lombardi Trophy to Dallas.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones discussed the exit of former head coach Mike McCarthy after he was eventually replaced by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

"Mike McCarthy left some good stuff here," Jones said Monday, per RJ Ochoa of Blogging the Boys. "One of them was Brian... it was time for a change. I've heard it criticized we spent five days getting to come to that decision. We did. Come to that decision. One of the reasons we came to that decision is because there was this decision available to us as well. One of the reasons."

The Cowboys chose to move on from McCarthy on Jan. 13 after his contract expired at the end of the 2024 season.

"Prior to reaching the point of contract negotiations, though, it became mutually clear that it would be better for each of us to head in a different direction," Jones said in a statement released after the team parted ways with McCarthy.

Dallas eventually hired Schottenheimer on Friday.

McCarthy finished with a 49-35 record in five years with the Cowboys, although they owned a 1-3 playoff mark during his tenure. Dallas is also coming off a missed postseason appearance for the first time since 2020, ending its 2024 campaign at No. 3 in the NFC East standings with a 7-10 record.

The Cowboys sat at 3-2 through Week 5, but they proceeded to lose five straight games and quickly fell out of the NFC playoff race. They also dealt with injuries to key players on both sides of the ball, highlighted by quarterback Dak Prescott undergoing season-ending hamstring surgery after appearing in eight games.

McCarthy could still find himself patrolling the sidelines in 2025, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Sunday that he would "expect" the New Orleans Saints to be talking to him regarding the team's head coaching vacancy "at some point this week."

As for the Cowboys, they'll be looking to return to the playoffs in 2025 during their first year with Schottenheimer.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones acknowledged he ventured off the beaten path a bit when he tabbed Brian Schottenheimer as the team's next head coach.

"This is as big a risk you could take," Jones told reporters Monday during Schottenheimer's introductory press conference. "No head coaching experience. But he's had 25 years of experience."

The owner also believes being the son of a legendary NFL coach has aided Schottenheimer in his coaching career:

Hiring Schottenheimer has been met with a lot of skepticism, to put it kindly.

The 51-year-old boasts a lot of experience, having started his coaching career in 1997. But, as Jones noted, he hasn't been a head coach before and his performance as an offensive coordinator doesn't blow you away.

Monday's press conference was an opportunity for Jones to lay out a clear vision for why he was won over by Schottenheimer's pitch despite the obvious question marks. Instead, the 82-year-old probably just confirmed the worst fears of fans who believe the Cowboys' Super Bowl drought will extend indefinitely.

RJ Ochoa of Blogging the Boys transcribed a portion of the press conference when Jones received a question about Schottenheimer and proceeded to talk up his own résumé.

Taking a risk isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially after Dallas opted for a relatively safe hire when it chose Mike McCarthy in 2020. Firing Tom Landry and hiring Jimmy Johnson was an even bigger gamble and look how that worked out.

But Schottenheimer feels like an NFL coaching retread without him having worked in this job before. Surely another team would've made him a head coach by now if he gave the impression he was suited for the role.

The idea that having a famous coaching father helps isn't really backed up by history, either.

Don Shula is one of the winningest coaches in NFL history. He had two sons, Dave and Mike, who followed in his footsteps, and neither has enjoyed a distinguished career. Rex Ryan, Wade Phillips and Jim Mora Jr. all had fathers who were NFL coaches and none excelled for an extended period of time, either.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is the exception rather than the norm.

If this all works, then Jones will look like a genius. The last 30 years of the Cowboys' history points to a much different outcome with the Schottenheimer experiment.

The hiring of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the position of head coach has been the cause of great angst in Dallas, as fans lamented another familiar hire from Jerry Jones at a time when the organization seems to be in need of significant change.

So long as the Cowboys have Dak Prescott at quarterback, however, the head coach should look at least somewhat good.

"With all the [Troy] Aikmans and the [Tony] Romos and the Daks, someone is falling into a Tier 2 quarterback or higher every time," an NFL executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando. "You are going to be in the mix whether you hire Jason Garrett, Mike McCarthy or really anyone."

Since 1995, the Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl or even reached the NFC Championship Game. And since Barry Switzer's tenure ended in 1997, the Cowboys have cycled through Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips, Garrett, McCarthy and now Schottenheimer at head coach.

In the post-Switzer era, the Cowboys have reached the playoffs 12 times, though they've won just four postseason contests. They've been in the mix, in other words, but have never been able to get over the hump. At some point, that pattern would suggest that the issue has been rooted in organizational and coaching failures.

And that's why Schottenheimer's business-as-usual hiring has been so wildly unpopular in Dallas. There remains the feeling that until Jones recognizes the need for change, the Cowboys will continue being the sort of team that has the talent to reach the postseason but flames out once it gets there.

Brian Schottenheimer has brought a former head coach onto his Dallas Cowboys staff.

Former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was announced as Dallas' defensive coordinator on Tuesday after Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported Monday that he was expected to be hired to the position.

ESPN's Ed Werder previously reported on Sunday that Eberflus was "likely" to be named the team's defensive coordinator.

Werder also noted that Mike Zimmer, who was the Cowboys' defensive coordinator this season, is not returning to Dallas and will likely retire.

Eberflus was the Cowboys linebackers coach from 2011 to 2017 and also spent two seasons as the team's passing game coordinator. After a three-year stint with the Indianapolis Colts as defensive coordinator, he became the Bears head coach in 2022.

Chicago, which didn't make the postseason in Eberflus' first two years, got off to a solid 4-2 start behind strong play from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears quickly collapsed, however, losing six consecutive games leading up to Eberflus' firing.

While his tenure as a head coach wasn't very successful, Eberflus proved himself as one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL when he was with the Colts. During the 2020 and 2021 seasons, the Colts ranked in the top ten in scoring, run defense and takeaways.

Eberflus will look to have similar success in Dallas, and with a star in Micah Parsons leading his defense, the job will be made much easier.

The Cowboys are looking to finally assemble a staff that can take them deep in the playoffs and snap an ugly NFC Championship game drought. Dallas found success in former coach Mike McCarthy, making the playoffs three times, but its best finish was a divisional-round appearance in 2022.

Though Schottenheimer has no prior experience as a head coach, he proved himself to the Cowboys' front office with his performance as an offensive coordinator and he'll look to have more success in his new role.