The Dallas Cowboys look as if they are a team who have completely lost faith in their coaching staff, despite what Jerry Jones may say. If rumors are true, the players have become frustrated with their head coach Jason Garrett as well, and that tends to have a trickle effect all the way down the line. This could lead to the Cowboys cleaning house, but are there any candidates out there who would be an upgrade?
There are many of us around Cowboys Nation who have already started looking at coaching replacements, whether it is a new head coach or new coordinators on both sides of the ball. Because of that, I decided to put a list together of some of the coaching candidates I would target to take over for the Dallas Cowboys.
Continue to read below to see the coaching candidates I like, and as always please feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions in the comment section at the end of the article.
Head Coach Candidates
Josh McDaniels
Josh McDaniels might just be the most recognizable names who will be linked to the Dallas Cowboys if they start looking for a new head coach. Bringing the Patriots offensive system to the Cowboys should do wonders for both Dak Prescott and the rest of the offense. I believe he has learned from his mistakes when he took over as the HC in Denver and would do really well here in Dallas. I personally believe his downfall with the Broncos was because he tried to make Tim Tebow an NFL caliber QB and staked his career on it. He would have more to work with in Prescott.
Matt LaFleur
Matt LaFleur is a product of the Shanahan coaching tree you could say. He developed a relationship with Kyle Shanahan when with the Texans, and followed him to Washington when Mike Shanahan took over as the head coach of the Redskins. He was the mentor to Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins until he followed Kyle once again to Atlanta to become the quarterbacks coach. There he helped Matt Ryan have some of the best seasons in his career. He is now serving as the current offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams, but will be on the short list among HC candidates shortly. The Cowboys should strike while the iron is hot.
Todd Haley
Todd Haley was the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver coach from 2004-2006, but then joined the Arizona Cardinals to become their offensive coordinator. Under his playcalling, the Cardinals became one of the most innovative and explosive units in the NFL. His success as the OC in Arizona earned him the head-coaching job with the Kansas City Chiefs. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long which is why he is currently serving as the OC in Pittsburgh. The Steelers currently have one of the best offenses in the entire NFL and it is in large part due to the playcalling of Haley. I think he would be a great fit in Dallas and would work well with an intrusive owner like Jerry Jones.
John DeFillippo
John DeFillippo isn’t a name I expect the majority of you to know or even heard of, but I believe he is an up-and-coming offensive coach in the NFL. He is currently serving as the QB coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and has done a fantastic job developing Carson Wentz. He was the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns in 2015 before that coaching staff was let go. I’d probably prefer to have him as an offensive coordinator first, but the only way the Cowboys pry him away from the Eagles is to make him the new HC. In fact, the New York Jets requested an interview with him last season to become their OC, but Philadelphia blocked that request.
Gus Bradley
Gus Bradley had his chance to be a head coach in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but wasn’t put in the best situation to succeed. At the time, the Jaguars were still a bad team, which ultimately cost Bradley his job. I think given another opportunity, he would become one of the better coaches in the league. The Cowboys have been trying to mimic the Seattle Seahawks defense for years, so why not hire a new HC who was responsible for the Seahawks defensive success from 2009 to 2013.
Mike Vrabel
I really think Mike Vrabel will be at the top of a lot of teams list looking for a new head coach. Since retiring, Vrabel has continuously risen in the coaching ranks and is now currently serving as the Houston Texans defensive coordinator. After losing three of his best defensive players (Brian Cushing, JJ Watt, and Whitney Mercilus), he still has the Texans defense playing like one of the better units in the league, which proves his adaptability and ability to game plan. I think players will gravitate to him because of his credibility in the league as both a player and coach, and want to play for him.
Offensive Coordinators
Gary Kubiak
If Jason Garrett remains the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and Scott Linehan is fired, Gary Kubiak would be at the top of my list to become the next offensive coordinator. I believe his offensive philosophy would fit perfectly in Dallas and do wonders for Dak Prescott. Kubiak likes to use a lot of misdirection to help the QB take shots down the field, but remains balanced in the running game as well. The system wouldn’t change all that much, but I do believe he is more creative and knows how to use his weapons better than Linehan.
Mike McCoy
Mike McCoy might’ve been recently fired as the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos, but he won’t be out of a job for long. Someone had to be the “scapegoat” for how poorly the Broncos have been playing this season, and McCoy was that person. I believe he would be an immediate upgrade over Linehan and fit in nicely with Jason Garrett. McCoy’s greatest asset might be his adaptability. Whether it was Tim Tebow, Kyle Orton, Peyton Manning, or Philip Rivers, McCoy has been able to find success as an offensive coordinator. That adaptability would be a welcomed addition from Linehan.
Defensive Coordinators
Don Brown
Don Brown (62) is on the older side then any other coach on this list, but he has nearly 40 years of coaching and has found success at every stop along the way, even as an intern coach for the Yale baseball team in 1992. Brown is the polar opposite of Marinelli and loves to be aggressive. He loves to get after the QB and draws up blitzes from every position on defense. Plus, he already would have working knowledge of some of the Cowboys young players (Taco Charlton and Jourdan Lewis).
Greg Schiano
Mentioning Greg Schiano’s name in relation to becoming the Dallas Cowboys next defensive coordinator will certainly be unpopular among a lot of fans, but he does have a proven track record. He completely turned around the Rutgers program when he was a head coach starting in 2001 and still has several of his former players in the NFL. Schiano is currently serving as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, but could be looking to return to the NFL after being fired in 2013 as the Buccaneers head coach. His hard-nosed disciplinarian defensive philosophy could be exactly what the Cowboys defense needs.
Matt Eberflus
Surprisingly enough, not many Dallas Cowboys fans know who Matt Eberflus is, but he could possibly be promoted to defensive coordinator if Rod Marinelli loses his job. Eberflus is currently Dallas’ linebacker coach and has been with the organization since Rob Ryan was the defensive coordinator. He has experience in both the 3-4 and 4-3 defensive scheme and could be the perfect combination of Rob Ryan’s aggressive and Rod Marinelli’s conservative approach.
i like jim swartz as a hc. his defenses are always top notch and i think he can work with the current team/defense we have here. this time around may be better for him as he has gained more experience. as for OC i think gary kubiak
swartz and kubiack would make a good team.
I thought about adding Jim Swartz, but there’s just something about him that rubs me the wrong way LOL. But, I agree he should probably be a candidate
Give me some Josh McDaniels please. Although, unless the team continues to crater like the last three games, I doubt that Jason is going to be fired. I do think that Marinelli is gone, the players have lost confidence in his ‘system’.
Josh McDaniels is at the top of my list as well. Right there with him though is Matt LaFleur. He doesn’t have the name recognition of McDaniels yet, but he’s one of my favorites.
Dallas has to fire Garrett and soon…He is only good at being an OC, that’s it…He sucks as a HC
I don’t know if they will fire JG or not. Jerry Jones supposedly still believes in him, but Garrett isn’t doing any favors for himself.
They need to clean house with the coaches. Tired of watching games and asking why are they not making any adjustments. Every other team goes into half time changes things and comes out different. Jason goes in and clearly gives a speech and says good job. Linehan is awful. How do you let a LT get beat all game and not run plays to help him? They gave him no help. That’s not hard to change a game plan for. Jason also makes stupid calls all the time. Its time to move on.
Rory, I think a lot of Cowboys fans would agree with you. We are going to have to wait and see if they are going to make any coaching changes though.
Since Jimmy Johnson left (I say fired), the deal has always been that Jerry had to find a coach who was willing to let him have all the personnel power, run the draft, decide contracts to extend and not, how to spend the cap, make or refuse to make all trades.
So that leaves you with game plan, practice routine and play calling. And that yields you coaches like Chan Gailey, Dave Campo, Switzer, Garrett, on and on. The one time Jerry ceded a little bit of additional power was when he found out that Parcells said on TV that he might be able to work with Jones. Finally – after the three 5-11 years of Campo – Jerry could hire a proven NFL winner.
That bumped the team up to the .500 range and lasted 4 years. 2 playoff games under Parcells, 2 losses.
The only saving grace this time will be that Jerry has let Stephen take more power in recent years. Jerry wanted to take Johnny Manziel, but Stephen listened to the football men and said he wanted Zack Martin. Jerry allowed it. Stephen was right.
So that new dynamic in the Jones ownership structure, might get us a better HC.
While Marinelli may get swept out with a new regime, I actually still think he does about as well as is possible with the talent he gets. He got real upturns out of Lawrence and Irving. Just when that improved, the stark realities of the rebuild of the secondary arrived. It may be 2 drafts away from a formidable unit.
HC’s who save their job by junking the coordinators, are usually gone soon themselves. If Garrett does not get enough of an upturn to be competing for the last wild card spot as the season closes, I think the moves have to start with him.
Because of the youth of Dak, Zeke, Gathers, Switzer – I think the new HC should have proven offensive expertise. A coach who can be to Dak what (former OC) Bill Walsh, was to Montana as 49’ers HC.
Somebody still young and hungry, ala Sean McVay. Let Stephen pull the trigger on the hire.
Russ, I agree with everything you said. You may have noticed, but most of my HC candidates are offensive minded. I think I would prefer a HC who calls the plays. That’s why McDaniels and LaFleur are at the top of my list
Todd Haley should replace Jason Garrett, Mike McCoy should replace Scott Linehan and Greg Schiano should replay Rod Marinelli. This team needs a lot of help and replacing this current coaching staff is the place to start.
I would absolutely be on board with that coaching staff. I think it would be a huge upgrade over what the Cowboys currently have.
I have hopes that the OC and DC will be replaced with more innovative minds, it has been frustrating to see the constant intransigence of our current OC and DC to make changes during games when the game plan is not working. Hopefully, Jerry and Stephen will look for that instead of picking from personal favorites.
Russell, I think that’s what we are all hoping.
I like the sound of Mcdaniels, and don brown. I feel like we need something new and creative, good football minds that can atleast make adjustments and are not completely stuck in there ways and stubborn. Id really like to have a head coach with a fiery personality to rub off on the team. I seen an article about romo being a HC and I don’t know about that yet. But what about an OC brian ?
I really don’t know what to think about Romo as an offensive coordinator. There’s not anything to go on there except that he was a good QB. I would prefer to go with someone who has a more proven track record personally.
Dabo to Dallas 2018!!!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/insidethestar.com/americas-college-team-clemson-hc-dabo-swinney-compares-champion-tigers-dallas-cowboys/amp/
Oh how ironic this could be…
Dabo to Dallas 2018!!!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/insidethestar.com/americas-college-team-clemson-hc-dabo-swinney-compares-champion-tigers-dallas-cowboys/amp/
Oh how ironic this could being…
Ken Norton Jr, no brainer! He’s got rings!
I like him as a DC. I would be on board bringing him in.
I love how you guys all write about firing positional coaches that are hamstrung because they are running the HC’s system …..amazing. This guy has had 7 years…7. HE ISN’T A HEAD COACH…..when people wake up to that they’ll figure it out. NOT to mention that the “GM” continues to ignore the D and suddenly everyone is expecting miracles from trash…. wake up dude. The ENTIRE coaching staff needs to be replaced along with 2/3 of the Defensive players…..
It really doesn’t matter if they are running JG’s system or not, changes need to be made. That’s the nature of the business. If you’re not succeeding, you are replaced. And, I agree the entire coaching staff needs to be replaced. Unfortunately, I’m not sure JG will be going anywhere anytime soon.
I dont no why,But I know Jerry will keep all his coaches,so the misery will continue at least another season.Something tells me he may regret the 5 year contract he just signed Garrett to.