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The Dallas Cowboys officially have a head coaching opening, and their search is expected to get a little weird given the delayed timing of it all. That’s already manifested with the report of Jerry Jones talking with Deion Sanders, though it’s unclear how serious those conversations are.
That said, if the Cowboys are looking to find candidates in unusual spots, there are plenty of under-the-radar coaches out there who could be diamonds in the rough. Here are 10 such names that the Cowboys should, at the very least, bring in for an interview.
Broncos DC Vance Joseph
The only coach on this list with prior head coaching experience, Vance Joseph has been around for some time. A former college quarterback at Colorado, Joseph transitioned to the defense when he began his coaching career and hasn’t looked back since.
He served as the Bengals defensive backs coach for two years, working under ‘current’ Cowboys run game coordinator Paul Guenther, before running the defense for the Dolphins. That role led to him being hired as the Broncos head coach, though he was fired two years later. Rumors suggested that Joseph wasn’t allowed full control over his offensive staff in Denver, and the offense is ultimately what got him fired.
Joseph returned to Denver as the defensive coordinator for Sean Payton and has turned the Broncos into one of the best defenses in the league. His side of the ball was a big part of the team’s playoff push despite an inconsistent offense led by rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
Joseph is viewed by many as a sharp coach with a great defensive scheme who players universally respect. He’s interviewed for head coaching gigs a few times since being fired, and fits the profile of someone who would have more success the second time around after having learned a few things.
Ravens STC Chris Horton
Special teams coordinators aren’t often hired to be head coaches. In fact, there is only one sitting head coach who came from that background. But considering that coach, John Harbaugh, is fourth among active coaches in career wins and has a Super Bowl ring, maybe more teams should consider special teams coordinators.
And where better to look than Harbaugh’s own Ravens team? Chris Horton is young, at just 40 years old, and he turned a short-lived playing career into what’s been a lengthy tenure with one of the NFL’s most consistent franchises.
Horton was the Ravens’ assistant special teams coach five years before being promoted to coordinator, and he’s maintained a high level of play for that side of the ball in Baltimore. He’s also gotten a behind the scenes look at the way Harbaugh has replaced his offensive coordinator five times, his defensive coordinator four times, and transitioned from the Joe Flacco era to the Lamar Jackson era all while continuing to make the playoffs.
Horton’s candidacy would heavily depend on his ability to build a staff around him, but he’s learned from the master of doing just that. If Horton can lure a good staff and also recreate the magic of the Ravens culture, it might be a winning formula in Dallas.
Ravens AHC/PGC/DB coach Chris Hewitt
Sticking with the Ravens for a moment, they’ve long been the model of defensive success despite cycling through coordinators fairly often. Simply put, the system for success on that side of the ball has become institutionalized in Baltimore, a rare ingredient in the modern NFL.
One man who’s been around for much of that change is Chris Hewitt, currently their assistant head coach/pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach. Hewitt got his feet wet as a coach on Greg Schiano’s Rutgers teams in the early 2000’s, where he coached both running backs and defensive backs. Hewitt also assisted in the strength & conditioning and special teams groups.
After internships with both the Browns and Eagles, Hewitt landed in Baltimore back in 2012, the year the Ravens won the Super Bowl. After eight seasons coaching defensive backs, he added the title of pass game coordinator. He added assistant head coach heading into this season as well.
Hewitt has seen a long list of defensive backs have great success under his watch, and the Ravens have consistently been one of the best pass defenses during that time as well. In addition to having witnessed the way Harbaugh manages this team, like Horton, Hewitt is sure to at least have some valuable insights into how he might try to replicate that somewhere else.
Cardinals DC Nick Rallis
The youngest coordinator in the NFL at just 31 years old, Nick Rallis just finished his second season running the defense in Arizona. He’s a longtime confidant of Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, as the two worked together on Mike Zimmer’s Vikings staff before teaming up in Philadelphia and, now, Arizona.
Like Gannon, Rallis is steeped in defensive schemes he’s learned from both Zimmer and Vic Fangio, two of the most respected defensive minds in the NFL. Rallis and Gannon work closely together on the Cardinals defense, but Rallis is the one calling the plays currently.
The Cardinals defense hasn’t been anything special these past two years, but the team has been rebuilding each of those years. By most metrics, the defense improved in their second year under Rallis despite being comprised mostly of young players.
Rallis is still very young and very new to coaching, but those who know him well have described him as a rising star. He is noted as a quiet but extremely confident persona who has a knack for communicating expectations to his players and holding them accountable. In a couple years, Rallis may very well be the next big name on the coaching carousel. The Cowboys could be early to the party, for once, by taking a look at him.
Browns RB coach Duce Staley
If the Cowboys aim, above all else, to find a coach who can be a figurehead for the team and set a winning culture, they have to look at Duce Staley. A star running back at South Carolina back in the 90’s, Staley was drafted in the third round by the Eagles. After seven seasons in Philadelphia, he finished his career with three years playing for the Steelers, winning a Super Bowl in the process.
Staley later began his coaching career with the Eagles, assisting with special teams to start before moving to running backs coach. He was later given the title of assistant head coach, and was one of several finalists to replace Doug Pederson as head coach before Nick Sirianni was hired. He spent two seasons on Dan Campbell’s Lions staff before a brief stint on the ill-fated Frank Reich Panthers staff, and then joined Kevin Stefanski’s Browns this past year.
Few coaches have seen high level success up close the way Staley has. He played for both Andy Reid and Bill Cowher and has coached under Reid, Chip Kelly, Pederson, Campbell, and Stefanski. Staley has been around a wide variety of different environments and seen a bunch of different ways to approach team building, making the appeal here very intriguing.
Personality wise, Staley is very similar to Campbell, which was a big reason for him coming to Detroit in the first place. Staley has long been praised for his leadership and motivation skills, and might be the closest thing anyone will find to a Dan Campbell clone.
Lions OL coach Hank Fraley
Speaking of Dan Campbell, the Lions’ success has made everyone want their own Campbell now. Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn are obvious targets, but another name that should earn consideration is offensive line coach Hank Fraley. After all, the Lions’ identity is built around their offensive line.
One of the few coaches Campbell retained from the Matt Patricia era, Fraley actually played alongside Staley for the Eagles before later joining the Browns. He’s since gotten into coaching, at one point assisting the offensive line on Mike Zimmer’s Vikings before finding his way to Detroit.
Not only has Fraley helped oversee the rapid development of the Lions offensive line into one of the league’s best units, but he’s been an instrumental piece in building out their diverse run schemes. Fraley has already interviewed with a few teams for vacant offensive coordinator jobs, and is rumored to be the desired coordinator for Johnson wherever he goes next, but why not jump the line?
With how integral Fraley has been to the Lions’ turnaround under Campbell, Fraley makes a lot of sense if you’re trying to capture some of that magic. And if other teams already think he’s good enough to interview for coordinator jobs, it’s only a matter of time until he’s ready for the top job too. Why not be early?
Eagles OL coach Jeff Stoutland
Once you talk yourself into the idea of considering an offensive line coach for a head coaching job, it’s a natural progression towards interviewing Jeff Stoutland. Unquestionably the best offensive line coach in the NFL, Stoutland has been a mainstay of the Eagles across three coaching staffs now.
Brought in by Chip Kelly after a two year stint at Alabama – both of which ended with national championships – Stoutland was elevated to run game coordinator following the Eagles’ Super Bowl win. He’s consistently had the Eagles right at the top in offensive line performance, even while losing All Pro players like Jason Peters and Jason Kelce.
Many consider Stoutland to be the Eagles’ secret weapon and most important asset, given all the other factors that have drastically changed around him over the years. And the Cowboys can certainly attest to how hard it is to beat Stoutland’s offensive line.
The only real knock on Stoutland at this point is his age. At 62 years old, Stoutland isn’t exactly someone you can ride for 20 years if he’s a hit as a head coach. But the Cowboys would be happy to take even five years of a great coach, especially if it means stealing him from the Eagles in the process.
Commanders AHC/PGC Brian Johnson
Sticking with the NFC East, but pivoting to the other playoff team this year in Washington, the Commanders have engineered quite the turnaround. While Dan Quinn and Kliff Kingsbury deserve a lot of credit for Jayden Daniels’ rookie success, an unsung hero is Brian Johnson.
Listed as the assistant head coach and pass game coordinator, Johnson came to Washington after three years with the Eagles, the last of which saw him running the offense. Johnson, a former star quarterback at Utah and video game cover athlete, had only coached in college to that point, mostly specializing in the spread option of Dan Mullen.
In Philadelphia, Johnson helped install much of the Eagles’ option schemes for Jalen Hurts, and he’s done the same for Daniels in Washington. His lone year as offensive coordinator was lackluster, but there were reports all season of tension with Sirianni, who didn’t give Johnson full autonomy.
Johnson also has a unique history with Dak Prescott, having been his position coach at Mississippi State back in the day. Prescott has remained close with Johnson, especially since he arrived in the NFC East. Landing Johnson would guarantee a strong head coach-quarterback relationship and one of the up-and-coming coaches in the NFL.
Vikings QB coach Josh McCown
One of the most important keys to success is the relationship between head coach and quarterback, which is why most head coaches have a history in coaching the position. Few quarterback coaches did as good of a job this past year as Josh McCown, who oversaw backup Sam Darnold stepping into the starting role for the Vikings and earn his first career Pro Bowl nod while leading Minnesota to a 14-win season.
McCown has received head coaching interest for several years now, going back to the Texans after the 2021 season. A longtime journeyman quarterback, McCown has been exposed to a wide variety of offensive schemes and leadership styles. His success in Minnesota this year draws the intrigue, but perhaps more interesting is his brief time in Carolina last year with Bryce Young. Teams will want to know what went wrong there versus what went right for the Vikings.
McCown has already received some head coach interview requests this cycle, and it’s been heavily rumored that he’s the top target to be offensive coordinator for Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores if he lands a head coaching job. That said, McCown deserves a good, long look from the Cowboys.
One more factor: McCown is from Texas and played his college ball for SMU before transferring to Sam Houston State. The chance to come home and lead the Dallas Cowboys would certainly be alluring for the 45-year old coach.
Panthers AHC/RGC Harold Goodwin
On the subject of the Panthers, they experienced a bit of a resurgence towards the end of this past season, especially quarterback Bryce Young. Rookie head coach Dave Canales, a year after reviving Baker Mayfield’s career, helped position Young for success despite his previous struggles. One man that was by Canales’ side for both revivals: Harold Goodwin.
Goodwin is well-traveled in the NFL. A former offensive lineman at Michigan, Goodwin rose to the position of offensive line coach for the Steelers under Mike Tomlin, winning a Super Bowl. When Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians left for the same job with the Colts, Goodwin followed. A year later, he followed Arians to the Cardinals, this time with Arians as head coach and Goodwin as coordinator, though Arians called plays.
When Arians came out of retirement to coach the Buccaneers, Goodwin reunited with him as the assistant head coach and run game coordinator, the same title he has now with the Panthers. Arians has described him several times as one of his most trusted assistants and has lobbied for Goodwin to get more head coaching consideration. He and Arians won two rings together, and Goodwin has now spent two seasons watching Canales work his quarterback magic on two different players.
Goodwin has worked under two of the best coaches of the past two decades in Tomlin and Arians, and seems to be working under another promising one in Canales. Goodwin may not be ready for a head coaching gig just yet (Arians insists he is), but he at least merits consideration.
