The Dallas Cowboys are almost assuredly going to be one of a handful of NFL teams searching for a new head coach over the next few weeks. Whether that search officially begins Sunday evening, following the club’s Week 17 date with the Washington Redskins, Monday, or by the grace of the fickle football gods after a round or two in the playoffs, the likely scenario is that Jason Garrett will be removed from the head coach position he’s occupied for 9.5 seasons in short order.

So which direction will Jerry Jones go? The Cowboys team owner, 77, knows he doesn’t have too wide of a window to see his fourth and the organization’s sixth championship. He locked up four young stars this past offseason and has a handful more expected to get big paydays over the next year. How does that enter into his search?

Jones has mentioned the learning curve a college coach would have to go through to get up to speed on the pro game, but he’s only ever had success with coaches who were in their first stops as pros with Jimmy Johnson (two championships) and Barry Switzer (one).

The assistant coaches around the league have been plucked thin over recent years, but that doesn’t mean the next best-coach ever isn’t in the wings at this very moment.

And what about outside the box? Jones isn’t someone who feels conventional wisdom is what is best for his organization and he could buck tradition and come up with a surprising hire.

What kind of coaching personality will Jones decide on?

Outside of their resume, how a coach gets along with Jones is going to be a deciding factor, whether Cowboys fans want to admit it or not. There have been a handful of strong personalities who have stood up to Jones’ hands-in-everything ownership style.

They don’t last long.

Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells had immediate turnaround success as those guys, but neither lasted beyond four years before the relationship got to be too much. Will Jones be willing to cede organizational control over to someone like this, or will he be more interested in getting a coach who allows for the coach-isn’t-really-the-final-say-so that seems to undermine any chance of sustained organizational success?

Here is a collection of potential candidates for the Cowboys head coach job. It is a mixture of names which have been bandied about as either connected with the Cowboys or NFL openings in general.

First, we’ll big board the candidates based on which category they fit in, and how I rank them based on viability. The categories are as follows:

No Experience – Outside The Box These are the guys who would only be considered by the Cowboys, players with deep ties to the organization.

Current NFL Assistants These are guys who have worked under successful programs and have been identified by many to have a shot at the big chair for various reasons.

Former NFL Head Coaches Guys who have had the big chair at a previous stop. They’ve either been out of the game or working their way back into contention as assistants.

NFL Coaches They’d Have to Trade For These men are currently employed as NFL head coaches and therefore would require various levels of draft-pick compensation to get them to Dallas.

College Coach w/ NFL HC Experience Guys who for whatever reason left the pro game to lead college programs and may want back in to the pro game in the right situation.

College Coach w/ NFL Experience Men who have been assistant coaches at some level in the NFL, but have gained all of their head coaching experience in the NCAA.

College Coach Only Guys who have led successful programs at the college level, but have never coached professionals before.



Any coach within the first two rounds would be seen as me as a fantastic hire. The third round would be guys that I have a question or two about them being obtained, but would still offer more hope than doubt.

Round 4 is the category for guys who could go either way and Round 5 are mostly names who are mentioned but offer me little initial hope that they’d be able to bring Dallas their sixth championship tropy.

Following that, each of the 45 candidates are ranked in order of my preference, which includes in some cases a nod that they are stronger candidates than where I would rank them.

Big Board of Potential Head Coaching Candidates for Cowboys in 2020

( 46) Jason Witten : Dallas Cowboys tight end for the last 18 generations.

( 45) Bill Cowher : Former Steelers HC, SB champion, multiple coach of the year, disciplinarian, been out game for 13 seasons

( 44) Jack Del Rio : Former Jacksonville, Oakland HC We have to admit this is a possibility for Jerry Jones, even if we don't like the idea.

( 43) Mike Leach : Washington St head coach, former Texas Tech HC, creative offensive mind with a ridiculous coaching tree that shows his ability to identify top staff

( 42) Dennis Allen : Saints Defensive Coordinator, Dallas has seen up close how well he's done 2 years in a row against their offenses, allowing just 1 TD drive.

( 41) Dave Toub : Chiefs Assistant HC Andy Reid's right-hand man and experienced ST coach.

( 40) Dan Campbell : Saints Assistant HC to Sean Payton, interim HC of Miami (2015), former Cowboys TE

( 39) John Fox : Former Carolina, Oakland, Chicago HC Fox is someone Jones would be interested in if he wanted to go oppo the Garrett hire and get max experience.

( 38) Pete Carmichael : Saints OC, doesn't call plays but been Sean Payton's right-hand man for years.

( 37) Matt Eberflus : Colts DC Former Dallas LB coach, building great defense in Indy.

( 36) Richard Hightower : 49ers ST Coach Assistant head coach in SF, ST closest thing to running entire team without doing it, and he's really, really good at it.

( 35 ) Todd Bowles : Buccaneers current DC, former HC of Miami Dolphins, New York Jets; former Cowboys secondary coach

( 34 ) Mike Zimmer : Current HC of Minnesota Vikings, former Cowboys and Bengals defensive coordinator

( 33 ) Dan Mullen : Current HC University of Florida, former head coach Mississippi State (Dak Prescott)

( 32 ) Sean Lee : Dallas Cowboys linebacker

( 31 ) Byron Leftwich : Current Tampa Bay OC is one of league's rising stars, designed offense with 2 1,000 yard receivers this year.

( 30 ) Raheem Morris : Falcons DB Coach Deserving of second shot at big chair, could also be situation where Dallas offensive staff stays intact.

( 29 ) Kevin Stefanski : Vikings OC, seen as one of league's better young offensive minds

( 28 ) Kris Richard : Cowboys DC Outsiders have no idea how much or how little his ideas (not playing the ball) are capped by Rod Marinelli

( 27 ) Mike Pettine : Current Green Bay defensive coordinator, former HC Cleveland Browns

( 26 ) John DeFilippo : Jaguars OC QB whisperer who refuses to design offense around running the ball.

( 25 ) Jon Kitna : Cowboys QB Coach What he's done for Prescott's mechanics is insane, seems right temperament for Cowboys head man.

( 24 ) Josh McDaniels : Patriots OC Always mentioned, never inspiring, but there's a chance.

( 23 ) Wink Martindale : Ravens DC bounced back from failed experience in Denver to be very creative in Baltimore.

( 22 ) Kellen Moore : Cowboys OC If one believes Garrett is too hands-on with scripting first 15, this is your guy for the future.

( 21 ) Mike Tomlin : Current Pittsburgh Steelers HC, Super Bowl winning coach

( 20 ) Urban Meyer : Former Ohio State HC Proven winner on the college level with QBs nowhere near Dak Prescott's level.

( 19 ) Brian Daboll : Current Buffalo Bills OC, Belichick assistant

( 18 ) James Franklin : Current Penn State HC, former Vanderbilt HC, former Green Bay position coach

( 17 ) Ron Rivera : Former Panthers HC, SB champion, 2x coach of the year, very relatable to players

( 16 ) David Shaw : Stanford HC, spent time as NFL assistant with multiple clubs, played under Bill Walsh as WR.

( 15 ) Robert Saleh : 49ers Defensive Coordinator Crafted insanely good defense and has fiery resolve to help motivate.

( 14 ) Dabo Swinney : Current Clemson HC, led team to ridiculous 68-4 record last 5 years, includes 2 Nat'l Championships and 1 title-game loss.

( 13 ) Eric Bieniemy : Chiefs OC Next in line in Reid's coaching tree, everyone he deems worthy of OC seems to become a great HC.

( 12 ) Tony Elliott : Clemson's current OC and more importantly playcaller appears to be on Dallas' radar in some capacity.

( 11 ) Bob Stoops : Former Oklahoma Sooners HC, 2x coach of the year, 1x National Champion at OU, ready to return to coaching as is current HC of XFL's Dallas team

( 10 ) Chris Petersen : Washington HC Kellen Moore's head coach at Boise, could lead to exciting reunion of creativity.

( 9 ) Tony Dungy : Super Bowl winning HC with Indy, constructed Tampa Bay roster, eventual SB champs, career .668 winning percentage

( 8 ) Nick Saban : Current Alabama HC, former Dolphins HC.

( 7 ) Greg Roman : Ravens OC Analytics lover, designer of exciting innovative offense around a QB with mobility.

( 6 ) Jim Harbaugh : Michigan HC The one no one will agree with but should, what he did in SF was remarkable. Just can't top Ohio State.

( 5 ) Matt Rhule : Baylor HC, turned program around in very short order after making Temple a winning footbal program.

( 4 ) Lincoln Riley : Oklahoma Sooners HC Innovation everywhere, two holdbacks are buyout clause and lack of pro experience.

( 3 ) Mike McCarthy : Former Green Bay HC, SB champion, offensive minded coach with a year off from game.

(Pipe Dream No. 2 ) Sean Payton : Saints HC Five-year deal this offseason doesn't make a trading of draft picks more or less far-fetched if Brees retires.

(Pipe Dream No. 1) Bill Belichick : Patriots HC A man can dream of some Jimmy Johnson-Jerry Jones feud this offseason, can't he?

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