The Cowboys obviously weren’t playing in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, relegated to watching from home as the two top teams in the NFL battled for football’s ultimate prize.

Even so, the team was at work, zeroing in on a key hire over the weekend. It’s an encouraging move that could bring the Cowboys a step or two closer to the big stage one year from now.

Dallas is expected to name Junior Adams as the team’s new wide receivers coach. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Todd Archer and later confirmed by other outlets.

Adams has been the wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator for the Oregon Ducks since 2022. This will be the 45-year-old’s first job at the pro level.

A California native, Adams played wide receiver in college at both Oregon State and Montana State. He remained at Montana State to begin his coaching career in 2004. After three seasons on staff with the Bobcats, he went back to high school, spending a year at Washington’s Prosser High. There, under longtime head coach Tom Moore (Kellen Moore’s father), he helped lead the school to a state title in 2007.

Adams went on to stints at Chattanooga, Eastern Washington, Boise State, Western Kentucky, and Washington before ending up at Oregon.

While at Eastern Washington for five seasons, Adams played a key role in the development of an undersized and seldom-used pass-catcher named Cooper Kupp into a premier NFL-caliber talent.

Kupp has called Adams “the best there is” and said that no coach has ever had a greater impact on him than Adams.

“As hard as he can be on you, I think he sees more in people than they see in themselves a lot of the time,” Kupp once told Mike Vorel of the Seattle Times. “I think he sees the best in people as well, and he wants to bring that out. He definitely pushed me and really forced me to accept the fact that I could be greater than what my own thoughts were.

“I really credit a lot of my mindset and the way that I’ve gone about my whole career – the mindset I’ve taken into my training, into my preparation – I credit a lot of that to Coach Adams.”

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The addition of Adams to Brian Schottenheimer’s staff has already led some to wonder if the Cowboys may try to maximize his success with Kupp by also bringing the All-Pro receiver to Dallas. The Rams have reportedly told the MVP of Super Bowl LVI that they are seeking to trade him.

Adams has also had a hand in the ascension of current NFL receivers Jalen McMillan, Rome Odunze, and Puka Nacua. And while serving as offensive coordinator at Western Kentucky, he was a mentor to Hilltoppers quarterback Mike White, who went on to be a fifth-round draft pick of the Cowboys in 2018 and has since gone on to play for the Jets, Dolphins, and Bills.

In Dallas, Adams will replace wide receivers coach Robert Prince, who was on staff for three seasons and is now with Miami.