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With the Dallas Cowboys reportedly moving on from Mike McCarthy after five seasons at the helm, Jerry Jones is in the market for a new head coach. And according to reports, the famed Cowboys owner and general manager is interested in a first-time head coach.
According to Fort Worth Star Telegram reporter Nick Harris, former longtime Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten is a candidate for the team’s open head coaching spot.
Similarly, Kellen Moore — the team’s former offensive coordinator who is now serving in the same role with the Philadelphia Eagles — is also reportedly “in the mix.”
While Moore has experience as a coordinator in the NFL — Moore was Dallas’ OC from 2019 to 2023, the Chargers OC in 2023 and the Eagles OC this season — Witten does not have any NFL coaching experience as is currently the head coach at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas.
𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗦: Former #Cowboys TE Jason Witten is a candidate for the team’s vacancy at Head Coach, per @NickHarrisFWST
Kellen Moore is also in the mix. pic.twitter.com/pP8pFwwuMp
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) January 13, 2025
As for why Jones would be interested in hiring Jason Witten as the franchise’s next head coach, he previously compared the tight end to transformative Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
Witten, 42 years old, spent 17 seasons in the NFL, 16 of them with the Dallas Cowboys. Widely considered to be one of the best tight ends in the history of the game, Witten had 1,228 catches for 13,046 yards and 74 touchdowns during the course of his career.
Whomever Jones hires next will be the ninth Dallas Cowboys head coach since he took ownership of the team in 1989, following Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips, Jason Garrett, and McCarthy.