The Dallas Cowboys are ready to win now. Jerry Jones wants a proven coach to lead them
The Dallas Cowboys are a team built to win now with a core nucleus in place -- namely on offense with quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Eliott and receiver Amari Cooper along with a proven offensive line.
More importantly, owner Jerry Jones believes that to be the case, despite the 8-8 mark in 2019.
So it’s little wonder that the Cowboys have focused the early part of their coaching search after officially firing Jason Garrett on proven winners and candidates with previous NFL head coaching experience in Marvin Lewis and Mike McCarthy.
Jones is reportedly looking for a coach who can win now and is not interested in someone learning on the job -- like a hot NFL assistant or college coach.
That could change but it could explain Jones’ defiant stance following the season-ending victory against the Washington Redskins seven days ago when he said wasn’t worried about missing out on any of the hot names being bandied about as the team began it’s slow goodbye dance with Garrett before officially firing him on Sunday.
“That doesn’t concern me,” Jones said then. “What other teams are doing, I’m not concerned about from a timing standpoint. I’m just not concerned about it. They can hire every name you’ve heard tonight, I’m not concerned.”
Most of the hot names who were being talked about were Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Rober Saleh, former Ohio State Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer, Oklahoma Sooners coach Lincoln Riley and Baylor Baylor Bears coach Matt Rhule.
Roman, Bienemy and Saleh have been on the interview circuit with either or all of the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and New York Giants. Rhule is set to meet with the Giants.
Riley and Meyer have not reportedly been contacted.
As of now, the Cowboys have not made contact with any of them.
Jones’ seeming narrow focus on proven head NF coaches also thins the list of potential candidates, unless the Cowboys are going to make a run at coaches who currently have jobs.
New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, a former Cowboys assistant and long-time member of Jones’ wish list. Payton, however, signed a contract extension before the start of the season and it’s unlikely the Saints would let him go.
With the New England Patriots out of the playoffs, the Cowboys could make a play for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who previously coached the Denver Broncos.
McDaniels has already drawn interest from the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and New York Giants for their coaching positions.
McDaniels as an 11-17 from spending just under two seasons with the Denver Broncos from 2009-10.
McCarthy has a 125-77-2 record with 6 division titles, four trips to the NFC title game and one Super Bowl title during his career with the Green Bay Packers from 2006-2018.
Lewis has a 131-122-3 record in the regular season from 2003-2018 with the Cincinnati Bengals but he is offset by a 0-7 mark in the playoffs.
One reason Garrett lasted 9 1/2 is that Jones was willing to be patient with his growing pains as head coach and then wanted the reap the benefits of them as the years went by.
All he got to show for it where three trips to playoffs, two playoff wins and no consistent measure of success as the Cowboys never made the post season in back to back years.
While Prescott and Cooper are free agents, Jones plans to sign them to long-term extensions. He can at least contract control their movement with the franchise tag and transition tags to keep them in the fold and keep the foundation intact.
Now, he just wants a proven and experienced coach to lead them.
