Former players & experienced coaches | Looking at potential head coaching candidates for the Dallas Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys are at an important crossroads for any organization: picking the next head coach.

After Mike McCarthy called it quits in Dallas, the Cowboys organization is searching for its next head coach, the 10th in franchise history. Names have already been swirling around the rumor mill.

So far, only three candidates have been linked to actual interviews with the Cowboys: Robert Saleh, Leslie Frazier and Kellen Moore. Still, other candidates have been reached out to without being formally interviewed (yet) like Deion Sanders.

Right now, there are plenty of names on the market, but there is also plenty of competition. Five other teams currently have head coach openings: the Chicago Bears, the New Orleans Saints, the New York Jets, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Las Vegas Raiders.

Our Locked On Cowboys team discussed the potential head coaching candidates for Dallas.

We’ll start with the biggest name to enter the discussion. Jerry Jones has reached out to Deion Sanders, and talks are expected to continue, sources confirmed to WFAA. Sanders is a former Cowboy and helped lead the team to a win in Super Bowl XXX.

Despite being the most popular name in the running, questions remain about whether or not Coach Prime is ready to make the jump to the pros. Sanders holds a 13-12 record as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes and remains winless in bowl games.

Still, Coach Prime has invigorated nationwide media attention to Colorado, and the Cowboys are in need of some positive press and excitement this upcoming season.

Robert Saleh was interviewed by Dallas on Saturday, the Cowboys organization confirmed. Saleh is one of the candidates on this list with real head coaching experience.

Saleh served as head coach of the New York Jets from 2021 to 2024. As a head coach, he holds a 20-36 record, but his defensive mind is what makes him appealing to the Cowboys. Before New York, Saleh was the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers and held a 45-31 record in that organization.

Still, Saleh’s record as a head coach remains a sore spot for his chances.

Kellen Moore is a familiar face in Dallas. He served as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2022.

Now, he is the OC in Philly, where he’s helped lead the Eagles to a 14-3 record and the NFC Championship game, so far. 

However, Moore has never been a head coach, but inexperience isn’t a sure sign of imminent failure. Moore clearly has the goods to design a playoff-ready offense, but whether he can be the “top dog” remains to be seen.

That didn’t stop Moore from earning an interview for the position on Friday.

Leslie Frazier is one of the most tenured names on this list.

Frazier is a former cornerback and Super Bowl winner as a player, but he’s also served under some of the head coaching greats. To start his career in coaching, he was a defensive backs coach under Andy Reid with the Eagles in 1999.

In 2007, as the defensive coordinator for Tony Dungee and the Indianapolis Colts, Frazier was instrumental in the team’s win over the Bears in Super Bowl XLI.

Frazier got a shot as head coach for the Minnesota Vikings from 2010 to 2013 with a 21-32 record.

Frazier has served as DC in Tampa Bay and Buffalo since. Leslie Frazier is a battle-tested coach, but at 65, concerns remain about his ability to adjust to the modern game.

Mike Zimmer is another familiar face, and he has the goods to serve as a bonafide head coach in the NFL. Zimmer currently serves as the defensive coordinator for Dallas, but this is his second stint with the team. Zimmer also served as DC with the Cowboys from 2000 to 2006.

He continued serving as a DC with Atlanta and Cincinnati until 2014 when the Minnesota Vikings brought him on as head coach. Zimmer was the Vikings’ leader until 2021, coaching the team to a 72-56 record.

Experience and familiarity are on Zimmer’s side, but whether Zimmer even wants to be the head coach remains to be seen.

Jason Witten is another former Dallas Cowboys player to make the list. 

Witten has yet to coach at the pro or even the college level, but he is a powerhouse in Texas high school football. He has a 38-11 record as the head coach of the Liberty Christian Warriors in Argyle, where he has coached his sons. Over the past two years, his teams have only lost one game and won two state championships.

In his 16 seasons with the Cowboys, Witten was the engine of the offense. Jerry Jones has even said Witten would make a great NFL head coach, but so far, Witten lacks the qualifications for the NFL.

Pete Carroll is the only candidate on this list with a Super Bowl win as a head coach.

Carroll served as the head coach and vice president of football operations of the Seattle Seahawks for 13 seasons and won the franchise’s first championship, Super Bowl XLVIII. Since leaving his head coaching position in 2023, Carroll has served as an advisor to the Seahawks.

Despite a Super Bowl win, Carroll did struggle to advance teams past the divisional rounds of the playoffs in the later years of his coaching career. With no real connections to the Cowboys organization, it seems unlikely he will be highly considered for the position.

Since 2021, Aaron Glenn has been the defensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. This season, the Lions had a top-five rushing defense, and Glenn has shown his ability to stop a modern NFL offense.

Despite a season plagued by injuries for the Detroit defense, Glenn helped contribute to a 15-2, division-winning record.

Like other DCs on the list, the potential concern of hiring Glenn would be who his offensive coordinator would be. With just over a decade in the league, there aren’t many known OCs that Glenn could call on to join him in Dallas.