Should Cowboys hire Deion? Saleh? Belichick?! Ranking 13 candidates

So, you’d like to know who the Dallas Cowboys might hire as their next head coach. Well, get in line.

With Mike McCarthy awkwardly exiting stage left this week, the most visible job in the NFL is open once again. And it’s much more intriguing this time around because there is no slam-dunk candidate, no obvious name that Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones will covet.

Maybe that sounds strange, but it’s important to remember that Jones and the Cowboys have always — will always — march to the beat of their own drum. Hiring a head coach in Dallas is rarely going to be as simple as interviewing the hotshot coordinator of the year.

Experience, proven track record and personal relationships have often weighed heavily into these things. Jones has hired eight coaches to run his franchise to date, and seven of them have possessed some combination of those attributes. Only Chan Gailey, hired and fired in just two seasons in the late 90s, stands out as having neither proven success as a head coach nor a personal relationship with Jones prior to getting the job.

All that being said, it truly feels like anyone’s guess which route Jones opts to take in 2025. Be that as it may, let’s try to figure it out anyway by inspecting some candidates — from the logical and boring to the truly outlandish. I've listed them in order of personal preference.

1. Philadelphia Eagles OC Kellen Moore

A fun double-dip in the sense that Moore is one of this year’s most successful assistants while also having obvious ties to the organization.

Moore got his start in coaching with the Cowboys after wrapping up his playing career in 2017. He coached quarterbacks for a year before transitioning to offensive coordinator in 2018. The Cowboys and Dak