FRESH: Our Dallas Cowboys Coach Tracker …. keep you informed as “America’s Team” makes technical staff decisions …
WEDNESDAY PM: JONESES MEETS WITH EDWARDS In addition to the George Edwards coordinator interview conducted by head coach Mike McCarthy over the weekend (before the subsequent hiring of Dan Quinn), the Jones family has visited with Edwards the idea that the senior assistant of the Cowboys stay at The Star.
Edwards, the former Vikings coordinator, came here a year ago not as a member of Mike Nolan, but as a contractor for McCarthy. He was once part of the same Dolphins staff with Quinn. And he once coached the Cowboys defenders.
WEDNESDAY AM: WHITT JR. GO ON BOARD At The Cowboys they get their double wish: head coach Mike McCarthy has got Joe Whitt Jr. as his “defensive passing game coordinator / secondary coach.” Whitt was allowed to leave his contract in Atlanta (which could have happened anyway to those who hire the Falcons as their next coach) and have a two-year contract here.
Whitt spent a decade on McCarthy’s Packers staff and will likely be helped by Al Harris, the former Packers player who joined Dallas last year as DB coach. With Whitt, Mo Linquist is likely to leave.
Dallas is also working to add a new D-line coach. We reported on Tosh Lupoi and Travis Jones. (See below.) Now add Giff Smith in the mix.
TUESDAY AM: COACH CAMPBELL? Could former Cowboys winger Dan Campbell be the next head coach of the Detroit Lions? A source tells CowboysSI.com that while Niners coordinator Robert Saleh entered the process as a favorite, there is “influence in the Detroit building” that could “favor” and therefore push Campbell , who was formally interviewed Monday for work. – on the front of the package.
Campbell is currently the assistant coach of the New Orleans Saints and in 2015 was the interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Campbell, 44, is a native of Clifton, Texas, and a product of Texas A&M and would bring an old-school approach to Lions staff.
MONDAY PM: LAST WORDS “Grace, Character and Brotherhood” … Dan Quinn has reached a three-year deal. Do you want funds? Read here: “What do Dan Quinn’s ‘Last Words’ mean when the Dallas Cowboys hire him as a defensive coordinator.”
MONDAY AM: QUINN STAFF? Dan Quinn’s second interview (this face-to-face) takes place on Monday and one of the topics will be the proposed composition of his staff.
Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. (as a top defensive assistant, with a title as a “passing game coordinator” or something) are the thinking of many within The Star. Whitt would take over the secondary, which was a failure under the hand of McCarthy – staff selection in 2019.
A potential hurdle: what if Raheem Morris gets the job of head coach in Atlanta? In this case, Whitt could stay as coordinator. … which could make Jason Simmons get the job of “passage / high school coordinator.”
In addition, there is a vacancy in Dallas at the D line coach. The property wants to keep Leon Lett as an assistant. An interesting name if available for change in Atlanta is Tosh Lupoi, Quinn 2019 defensive line coach and race game coordinator. On his resume is a five-season stay in Alabama. Another name: Travis Jones, another Atlanta member who was also with Nick Saban at LSU.
Certainly, Dallas is opting to go back to the 4-3 defense and the people who run the high school who have experience as “teachers”.
We would notice that while Dallas seems to be closing Quinn, there has been a formal interview with staff member George Edwards. Details here.
Also: While McCarthy would surely want to keep Scott McCurley as a striker coach, the front office will be able to tell, and the availability of Sean Lee as a retired player who wants to start a coaching career could also be.
MONDAY AM: QUINN INTERVIEWS The Dallas Cowboys have been added to their roster to take on defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, the former Atlanta Falcons coach.
Quinn was the Falcons head coach from 2015 to 2020, a race that included a playoff bed with a Super Bowl appearance in 2016.
READ MORE: Cowboys Interview Falcons Ex Dan Quinn
Click on it. The coordinator’s credentials are awesome … and then read on about how this isn’t necessarily Mike McCarthy’s “boyfriend” … which can be a good thing.
SUNDAY AT PM: IT’S “MCCARTHY RENTAL”, PERUT … A source told CowboysSI.com that this “is McCarthy’s contract,” but we are also told that during the interview process a “top front office executive” may also be present for the visits.
SUNDAY PM: ASSISTANT INTERVIEWS CAROLINA Another candidate comes to light as Jason Simmons has been interviewed by the Panthers High School coordinator for the coordinator job in Dallas, a visit that according to ESPN included both Mike McCarthy and Jerry Jones for the Dallas Cowboys. This information coincides with our report that a senior front-office executive will participate in McCarthy’s interviews.
Simmons and McCarthy, as one might assume, worked together in Green Bay.
SUNDAY AM: PACKAGE OFFER? a year ago, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy hired Joe Whitt as defensive coordinator before the job ended up going to another McCarthy friend, the now fired Mike Nolan.
Joe Whitt Jr. is back in the mix, interviewing this weekend for the vacancy. And perhaps one of the most appealing things about him, given his job last year as a “passing game coordinator” for an Atlanta team that finished last in the NFL in passing defense, is who could accompany him.
Sources tell CowboysSI.com that while McCarthy has no particular connection to Falcons ex-coach Dan Quinn, it is clear that Whitt does, as Quinn is the guy who hired Whitt in Atlanta. Also, the idea that McCarthy could make his way with the hiring of Whitt (who the coach is pushing) may be more enjoyable if Quinn can also come to The Star, for example, as a defensive line coach.
If McCarthy gets his way and hires Whitt (there are no guarantees yet, as other viable candidates, including current Cowboys adviser George Edwards, also deserve discussion), this increases the likelihood that other McCarthy members will keep the their jobs. In the case of hiring Edwards, it could drive some staff changes, just like most people bring in from outside.
But what if McCarthy can attract Whitt and Quinn (who, to be fair, surely has the higher gaze than being a position coach)? The Joneses could be impressed enough to allow McCarthy to make his way over the rest of the defensive staff left in his place.
SATURDAY PM: EASY EDWARDS A smart, “easy” move? Elevate George Edwards. Edwards, the former Vikings coordinator, is already in the building, but technically he was not part of Nolan’s staff.
READ MORE: Marvin Lewis, Quinn and Edwards among Dallas’ top candidates?
It could represent a compromise between the Jones and McCarthy family.
SATURDAY AM: WHITT TO INTERVIEW – WITH A COMMITMENT Joe Whitt Jr. is a sensible name for McCarthy.
READ MORE: Sources: McCarthy Pushing For Whitt: whom he almost hired last year
But Whitt, despite his connection to Green Bay, can’t use exactly his last season in Atlanta as a resume builder.
FRIDAY PM: DC CANDIDATES We have created our list … some of them our names, but most names of the interior of the building or names with obvious connections to those of the interior of the building.
READ MORE: Who should hire Cowboys to replace Mike Nolan?
FRIDAY PM: NOLAN AND TOMSULA ON After just one season in Dallas, McCarthy’s two best defensive assistants have come out.
READ MORE: BREAKING: Mike Nolan fired; The three Dallas Cowboys options
The 2020 Cowboys allowed the highest number of TDs and points in a season in the franchise’s history.
JANUARY 2: KELLEN STAYS “Children or Boise?” Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has made his decision.
READ MORE: Kellen Moore Staying with Cowboys
It’s a three-year deal to stay in effect in Dallas.
SEAN LEE AS A COACH? McCarthy has spoken with the veteran defender about a post-retirement career as a coach.
READ MORE: McCarthy urges Sean Lee to train
“If you’re stupid enough to train,” McCarthy jokingly told Lee, “we should definitely talk.”