Jason Witten may not wind up on the Dallas Cowboys staff after all.
The Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach as of Friday night and his name is Brian Schottenheimer. Time will tell what his staff ultimately looks like. It seems fair to say that the success of this team moving forward will largely depend on the hires made to support him. For now the only name that has been connected to the group in any way is former team staffer Matt Eberflus.
One name that many have assumed will grace the staff when it is assembled is former tight end Jason Witten. While Schottenheimer ultimately was named head coach, at one point in time Witten was being connected to the job himself. To date Witten has no coaching experience at the collegiate or professional levels, and many have thought that a plan to groom him may be in place which would obviously require him to join an NFL staff, the Cowboys in all likelihood.
There have been mixed feelings on this potential, many that fans have been vocalizing ever since Witten’s name first popped on the overall coaching radar. For what it’s worth, according to NFL Network’s Jane Slater, it seems like Witten may not be joining the staff after all.
A source informed tells me the #Cowboys have not completed the process of hiring their defensive coordinator. Matt Eberflus is certainly someone held in high regard and certainly part of the consideration however. Not part of their considerations, according to two sources, Jason…
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) January 25, 2025
Slater notes that Witten is not “part of their considerations” and adds that he and Jerry Jones have maintained their relationship. Perhaps there was never any legitimacy to the idea of Witten joining the Cowboys staff, whether as head coach or in some other capacity, or perhaps there has been an about face of sorts.
Former players decorate team’s sidelines all of the time so the idea of Witten as a tight ends coach or something would certainly not be unheard of. It was the notion of him as head coach that seemed to have people up in arms.
Schottenheimer is scheduled to have his introductory press conference on Monday at 12pm ET so it feels fair to assume we will get more information then. Obviously things could leak in the time being as well.
We will be watching.
