Jason Witten named as possible Cowboys replacement for Mike McCarthy

The Cowboys sure do love the idea of having an ex-player as their head coach.

ESPN reported Monday that the Cowboys were considering 11-time Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten, among others, to be their next head coach after Mike McCarthy was not retained.

“They can and will conduct a search here to try and find the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on “Monday Night Countdown.” “Obviously it’s new, it’s just beginning. We’ll see what that brings them. A lot of names floating around out there. I think at some point in time they could have some level in the Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Potentially even Jason Witten, an all-time franchise great. But this is very early on. Very preliminary. And we’ll see ultimately where Jerry Jones goes with his search. But the Cowboys are in the market for a new head coach.”

Witten spent 16 of his 17 NFL seasons with the Cowboys after being drafted by Dallas in 2003.

Upon retiring after the 2017 season, he entered the broadcast booth for ESPN as the replacement for Jon Gruden and was largely considered a disaster in commentary.

Witten came out of retirement and returned to Dallas in 2019, playing in all 16 games, but played his final season with the Raiders in 2020.

He is the Cowboys’ all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards.

Since parting ways with McCarthy, the Cowboys have also been linked to another former star and current Colorado coach Deion Sanders

Sanders played for the Cowboys from 1995-99.

Prior to McCarthy’s appointment as coach, Jason Garrett led the Cowboys from 2010-19 and was also a former player, serving as backup quarterback to Troy Aikman from 1993-2000.

The Cowboys are coming off an injury-riddled campaign where they went 7-10 while losing star quarterback Dak Prescott for a majority of the season.

Dallas has the No. 12 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.