Sanders, Witten are among names floated as club’s next coach

Deion Sanders and Jason Witten are two of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ former — and favorite — players, and both have been floated as potential replacements for coach Mike McCarthy.

Jones and McCarthy agreed Monday to part ways after five seasons together. McCarthy was on an expiring contract and finished 7-10, ending a three-year run of playoff trips with 12-5 records. Dallas was 1-3 in those three postseasons.

There was no update from the club on the coaching search Tuesday, a day after Jones said one would begin following the decision to move on from McCarthy.

Jones made a splashy free agent signing with Sanders in 1995 a few months after the Cowboys lost to Sanders and the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game. The 49ers went on to win the Super Bowl.

The Cowboys won their third Super Bowl in a four-year span in that first season with Sanders, whose five seasons in Dallas matched his longest tenure with any team. Atlanta, which drafted Sanders fifth overall in 1989, also had the Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback for five years.

Sanders just finished his second season as coach at Colorado, and he and Jones talked about the Dallas opening Monday.

Witten was the best tight end in franchise history and is the club leader in games, starts, consecutive starts, catches and yards receiving.

The 11-time Pro Bowler was interested in joining the coaching staff when McCarthy replaced Jason Garrett in 2020, but instead became the head coach at a private school in the Dallas area. Witten’s team just won a state championship.

Witten could fit the mold of Detroit coach Dan Campbell, another former Dallas tight end who led the Lions to the top seed in the NFC playoffs a season after they lost to the Niners in the NFC title game. The Lions host Washington on Saturday night in a divisional game.

A Witten move would be highly unusual since his only coaching experience has been in high school. Campbell had plenty of NFL coaching experience when the Lions hired him in 2021.

Philadelphia offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has strong ties to Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott, who is going into the first year of a $240 million, four-year extension. It’s the first contract with a $60 million average annual value in NFL history.

Moore was Prescott’s backup in his final season as a player in 2017, and immediately became his quarterbacks coach in 2018. Just a year later, Moore took over as offensive coordinator and was Prescott’s play-caller for four seasons, including the first three under McCarthy.

Dallas was among the best offensive teams in the league throughout Moore’s time as the play-caller, but the offense faltered at times late as postseason success once again eluded a franchise that hasn’t advanced past the divisional round since the 1995 season.

The Cowboys and Moore split after the 2022 season, and he spent a season with the Los Angeles Chargers before joining the Eagles. With Moore calling plays, Saquon Barkley became the ninth player to rush for at least 2,000 yards in a season.

Philadelphia won the NFC East and beat Green Bay in the wild-card round. The Eagles host the Los Angeles Rams in a divisional game Sunday.

Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn could be another viable candidate. The former Texas A&M player spent two seasons with the Cowboys late in his 15-year career.

Formal interviews with Moore and Glenn would have to wait until after their seasons are over.

Jones’ next coach will be his ninth. The first four were first-time NFL head coaches, starting with Jimmy Johnson when Jones bought the team in 1989. The former University of Miami coach won back-to-back Super Bowls before an acrimonious split with Jones, his college teammate at Arkansas.

Three of Jones’ past four hires had NFL head coaching experience, including Super Bowl winners Bill Parcells and McCarthy. The exception was former Dallas quarterback Jason Garrett, the longest-tenured coach under Jones at nine-plus seasons.