Cowboys’ Hiring Timeline for New Coach Gets Stunning Update

If you thought the Cowboys took their sweet time in deciding the fate of coach Mike McCarthy, not formally letting go of him until the day before his contract ran up, on Tuesday, then you might not be surprised to learn that the process of hiring McCarthy’s replacement could be a lengthy one, too.

Ridiculously lengthy, perhaps.

The Cowboys have completed one formal interview, with Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, the Cowboys’ former quarterback and OC. There was an informal chat about the job with Colorado coach and former Cowboys star Deion Sanders last week, and Saturday, the team was set to talk with former Jets coach Robert Saleh.

There will be more interviews coming. While the job market can move quickly, especially as more teams are eliminated from the playoffs, team insider Calvin Watkins said the process of replacing McCarthy figures to go beyond next week. And even beyond the end of this month.

According to Watkins, who said that both Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson of the Lions--two of the top candidates this cycle–are expected to interview for the job, the Cowboys might not hire a coach until mid-February.

Cowboys Process Could Drag Into February

In fact, it seems almost impossible for the Cowboys to take that long to hire their coach. McCarthy, after all, was hired on January 7, 2020, and most teams have a sense of what they’ll do with their position by late January.

But, Watkins said in a video on the Dallas Morning News website: “So, where do they go from here? Initially, they’re going to talk with three people: Kellen Moore, their former offensive coordinator, who’s currently the Eagles offensive coordinator. Leslie Frazier, who’s the former coach in Buffalo and has been the defensive coordinator for several teams, will also interview for the job. And Robert Saleh, who is the New York Jets’ former head coach and is also a former defensive coordinator with the 49ers, he’s going to come in. …

“Those three initial candidates are just the beginning for the Cowboys. Ben Johnson, who is the Lions’ offensive coordinator and Aaron Glenn, who is also the Lions’ defensive coordinator, are going to also be expected to come in for interviews. … The Cowboys will take this probably into mid-February before they make a final decision.”

Candidates Won’t Wait on Dallas

That, of course, is a long, long process, and the way the rest of the market works could, potentially, force the Cowboys to speed things up. If Glenn or Johnson is willing to come to Dallas but have offers on the table from other teams, the Cowboys can’t afford to wait.

Either way, they’ve got to get this right. Players, generally, were not happy about the dismissal of McCarthy.

“I’m obviously very sad because of the relationships we had with Coach McCarthy and everything he’s done for our program,” star pass rusher Micah Parsons said on “The Edge” podcast.

“Three straight 12-5 seasons, playoff appearances and obviously an unfortunate year due to injuries … It is devastating. Coach Mike is a great father, great coach. One of the winningest coaches. He’s always been good to us as a unit, coaches, players. Losing a great coach like Mike hurts.”