Tag: Kellen

  • Brian Schottenheimer? Kellen Moore? As Cowboys coaching search continues, here are the biggest questions


    Ten days have elapsed since the Dallas Cowboys announced they were moving on from head coach Mike McCarthy.

    The franchise has yet to name a successor.

    Dallas has interviewed four candidates, engaging in informal conversations with at least two more. One candidate, 2023-24 Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, appears to be furthest along the road to a job offer. But where do all the moving parts stand? Let’s break it down, with some of the biggest questions you might be asking.

    The Cowboys have formally interviewed Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh, former Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier and Schottenheimer. Team owner and general manager Jerry Jones has also engaged in informal conversations with multiple NFL-adjacent names.

    Jones called University of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders the same day he parted ways with Mike McCarthy, though that seems more like a brilliant public relations stunt to shift the conversation from his belated firing than it does a formal courtship. Jones never formally interviewed Sanders, whom he has been close with since Sanders’ time playing for the Dallas Cowboys. Thursday, Jones also engaged in a conversation with former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll. The team did not announce it formally interviewed Carroll, as it had the four candidates above. But at the very least, Carroll’s conversation opened the door for more questions about the Cowboys’ proximity to the end of this road.

    Yes, and yes? Sorry for the cop-out, but both are true. The NFL season ended 2 1/2 weeks ago and the Cowboys remain coachless. This has proven costly in their pursuit of a head coach as well as in retaining some top assistants.

    On the head coaching level, three teams beat the Cowboys to the punch: The New England Patriots hired Mike Vrabel before Dallas even parted ways with McCarthy; the Chicago Bears hired Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson on Tuesday; and the New York Jets hired Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn on Wednesday. Johnson and Glenn each interviewed virtually with their future employers during their wild-card bye week, when the Cowboys were still in conversation with McCarthy. So the Cowboys “fell behind” if they wanted to recruit any of those three top candidates.

    They’ve lost multiple members of their coaching staff to other jobs, including special teams coordinator John Fassel to the Tennessee Titans.

    But on a more macro level, Dallas joins the New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders as teams still interviewing candidates. Dallas was the latest one to this game and won’t necessarily be the last to exit. The Saints fired former head coach Dennis Allen on Nov. 4 and have yet to fill their role, though McCarthy could be a top candidate.

    The league office has urged teams to slow down the hiring processes, both to decrease the number of quick firings and associated costly buyouts, as well as to increase playoff coaches’ ability to focus on their postseason game-planning. Drawn-out searches could increasingly become the norm.

    Schottenheimer did not formally interview with Jerry and Stephen Jones until after Frazier, Saleh and Moore’s rounds. The Jones family’s interest in exploring further hints at a desire to find something other than what they’d already heard. Schottenheimer is the only candidate whose conversation continued to a second day, though a source said whether that formally constituted a second interview or extended the first is semantics for a candidate already in town.

    Moore is not available for further (or in-person) conversation right now as his Eagles prepare to host the Washington Commanders in the NFC championship game.

    What does Schottenheimer offer? The son of longtime head coach Marty Schottenheimer, Brian spent 14 years as offensive coordinator for the Jets, then-St. Louis Rams, Seahawks and Cowboys. He has coached in the NFL for 25 of the past 28 seasons. He joined the Cowboys in 2022 as a defensive consultant helping then-coordinator Dan Quinn anticipate opposing defenses’ trends. He was promoted to offensive coordinator before the 2023 season, though McCarthy called plays in the two years that followed.

    With McCarthy, Schottenheimer helped install a version of the West Coast offense that the Cowboys deemed the “Texas Coast” offense. Precision replaced creativity, with receiver route depths now tied to quarterback footwork with less room for improvisation. Protection schemes shifted, too.

    Results varied. The Cowboys led the league in scoring in 2023, ranking fifth in total offense. Prescott finished second in MVP voting to Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. The following year with the same staff and similar personnel, Dallas’ offense fell to 17th, scoring to 21st.

    Prescott suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in November but the problems — with protection, establishing a run game and generating consistent passing — predated his injury. A year after throwing a league-best 36 touchdowns to just nine interceptions, he passed for 11 TDs to eight interceptions in eight games.

    Schottenheimer did coordinate top-10 offenses each of his past three seasons as a play-caller in Seattle from 2018-20. His pulse of the Cowboys’ interpersonal dynamics, understanding of Prescott’s strengths and, quite frankly, availability seem to be catching the Jones family’s attention.

    Carroll appears to be making a push for it. But Moore seems to check more boxes even if he wouldn’t return with the Super Bowl (yet?) and NCAA championship lore that Carroll would.

    His Cowboys’ familiarity runs deep: Moore was Prescott’s backup quarterback, quarterbacks coach and then offensive coordinator from 2016-22. Moore has called plays in the NFL each of the past six years, leading the Cowboys to top-six offenses three of his four years and top-11 in scoring during those campaigns. The Cowboys ranked first overall in both marks in 2021 under Moore.

    In Philadelphia this season, Moore coordinated the seventh-best offense and eighth-best scoring attack. Quarterback Jalen Hurts’ passing game has been inconsistent, but Moore has responded by tipping his play calls toward a run game anchored by Saquon Barkley and one of the league’s best offensive lines.

    Moore is less extroverted than Schottenheimer but more widely regarded as a play-caller who is adapting to league trends with his creative uses of tempo and personnel-specific game plans to stress opposing play-callers. An AFC GM and an AFC executive from two teams who interviewed Moore in recent cycles each told Yahoo Sports they would not be concerned about his ability to command a room. The executive cited Moore’s emotional intelligence as strong enough to motivate the team; the general manager said leadership comes in multiple forms, and multiple cerebral offensive coaches in the league have succeeded. Often, those coaches hire a fiery defensive coordinator to balance out the energy.

    Seventeen-year Cowboys tight end Jason Witten hasn’t yet coached beyond the high school level. But he piqued Jones’ interest enough to warrant buzz around Witten’s candidacy as a head coach, much less a member of the next coaching staff. Jones has strong-armed candidates onto Cowboys staffs before, including Moore sticking around as McCarthy’s offensive coordinator in 2020. Witten’s move isn’t a done deal, but think of it like Jones views him as a valve to pull if it makes sense — perhaps because the head coaching pick isn’t as dynamic a presence as the Cowboys seek.

    While Sanders is unlikely to meaningfully resurface for several reasons, including the cost of his Colorado buyout, don’t be surprised if Jones spends time with him at next week’s East West Shrine Bowl. Sanders’ son, Shedeur, will compete at quarterback in a series of practices taking place at the Cowboys’ facility. Be prepared for Deion Sanders and Jones to converse … and generate speculation, warranted or not.

    The top two candidates are coordinators intimately familiar with Prescott. That shouldn’t be a surprise. The Cowboys’ biggest salary-cap investment, by far, is the record-setting extension they awarded Prescott in September hours before their season opener. Prescott is set to earn $240 million over four years, or $60 million per year. Any coaching candidate without a vision for his success should not seriously be considered.

    That vision could differ; multiple successful NFC teams, from the San Francisco 49ers to the Eagles, have recently maximized their quarterback with strong run games and offensive line play rather than an insistence on a highly paid player throwing the ball across the board.

    The 49ers represented the NFC in the Super Bowl last year. The Eagles enjoyed the honor the year before. And with the Cowboys’ NFC East rivals facing off in the conference championship, the franchise’s 30-year NFC title game drought — much less Super Bowl victory drought — stings even more.

    With the Commanders snapping their 34-year streak since advancing past the divisional round, every NFC team but the Cowboys have qualified for the conference title game since the 2010 season.

    The Cowboys’ last season in that position: 1995.

    They hope their next coach will change that.





    The Dallas Cowboys are still in the midst of their coaching search, and two names that have been circulating as potential candidates are Brian Schottenheimer and Kellen Moore. Both have experience in the NFL and could bring a fresh perspective to the team. But as the search continues, there are a few key questions that need to be answered.

    1. Can Schottenheimer or Moore handle the pressure of coaching a high-profile team like the Cowboys? Both have experience in the league, but coaching America’s Team comes with a unique set of challenges and expectations.

    2. How will they handle the dynamic between owner Jerry Jones and star quarterback Dak Prescott? Jones is known for his hands-on approach, and the relationship between the owner and the QB will be crucial for the team’s success.

    3. What changes would they bring to the team’s offensive strategy? Schottenheimer and Moore both have offensive backgrounds, but their philosophies may differ. Will they be able to implement their vision effectively with the current roster?

    4. How will they handle the team’s defense, which has been a weak spot in recent years? The Cowboys have struggled on defense, and the new head coach will need to address this issue to have a successful season.

    As the coaching search continues, these questions will be important to consider when evaluating potential candidates like Schottenheimer and Moore. Only time will tell who will ultimately lead the Cowboys to success in the upcoming seasons.

    Tags:

    Brian Schottenheimer, Kellen Moore, Cowboys coaching search, coaching candidates, NFL coaches, coaching updates, Dallas Cowboys, coaching staff, head coach candidates, NFL news, coaching rumors.

    #Brian #Schottenheimer #Kellen #Moore #Cowboys #coaching #search #continues #biggest #questions

  • Cowboys’ next head coach odds: Deion Sanders was early favorite, Kellen Moore jumps ahead


    Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is currently preparing for the Eagles’ divisional-round playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams. But that isn’t the only thing on his plate this week, as he’s also interviewing for a new job, potentially as the Dallas Cowboys’ head coach.

    On Monday, Mike McCarthy and Dallas parted ways, creating one of the biggest job vacancies in the NFL. After the news broke, the rumor mill started churning, with all kinds of names being thrown out, including current Colorado coach and former Cowboy great Deion Sanders.

    With McCarthy out as Dallas’ head coach, DraftKings Sportsbook has odds on the most likely prospect to land that high-profile job. Yes, in some parts of the world, you can bet on these things.

    Would we advise you to bet on the impenetrable decision-making of Cowboys’ owner and general manager Jerry Jones? We would not. But thanks to the research that goes into listing these odds, the betting market can give curious fans a window of insight. The odds are not the end-all-be-all in any of these scenarios, but they are an entertaining way to discuss topics with your friends, family and co-workers.

    So, what do the odds say?

    On Friday, Moore interviewed virtually with the Cowboys and jumped into pole position as the favorite on DraftKings (-125) for the head coach opening.

    Sanders, now +175, was the betting favorite earlier this week at +100 odds with Moore behind him at +250. Public interest around the celebrity coach’s next move spiked after reports that Cowboys’ owner and general manager Jerry Jones had discussed the role with him. That said, “Coach Prime” has remained coy about his interest in the job, and Jones has spoken less formally with Sanders.

    “Kellen Moore and Deion Sanders are at the top of our list, driven by the current buzz and their strong ties to the Cowboys organization — an attribute we know Jerry Jones values highly,” Johnny Avello, director of sports operations at DraftKings, told The Athletic. “Our comprehensive list is crafted with a strong understanding of the candidate pool, in-depth research and real-time news updates.”

    Other names to watch? Dallas’ current offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer. He popped toward the top of the betting board on Friday afternoon, with his odds shifting drastically from +7000 to +500.

    The Cowboys have reportedly scheduled interviews with former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh (+300) and Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier (+1200).

    Here’s a look at Dallas’ next coach odds and some insights from The Athletic’s NFL staff.

    Betting odds for the Cowboys’ next head coach

    As of the afternoon of Jan. 17, these are the odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.

    Coach Odds

    Kellen Moore

    -125

    Deion Sanders

    +175

    Robert Saleh

    +300

    Brian Schottenheimer

    +500

    Ben Johnson

    +700

    Kliff Kingsbury

    +850

    Joe Brady

    +850

    Aaron Glenn

    +850

    Liam Coen

    +1000

    Steve Sarkisian

    +1200

    Jason Witten

    +1200

    Leslie Frazier

    +1200

    Brian Flores

    +1200

    Bill Belichick

    +1200

    What The Athletic’s NFL staff is saying

    Kellen Moore (-125)

    The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel explained on the latest Scoop City podcast why Moore is “the hot name” to land the gig.

    “There are some people around the league who say if you work under Jerry, he has to feel like he can control you,” Russini said. “Because [Moore] came up through Dallas as a coach, there’s going to be that loyalty.”

    “I think he makes a lot of sense because I think he can handle Jerry Jones,” Daniel said. “That’s the No. 1 thing.”

    Deion Sanders (+175)

    “Would the spotlight in Dallas shine wide enough to accommodate two larger-than-life personalities (Sanders, Jones) instead of just one (Jones)? Sanders, as a legendary former Cowboys player, is already family in Dallas. That would seem to help. But the potential for shaking things up would be there every day. Jones might like that. ‘I think they are made for each other — two showmen,’ an exec from another team said. ‘It would be must-watch TV, which is probably the second thing Jerry cares about, if you believe he wants to win a Super Bowl.’” Mike Sando

    Robert Saleh (+300)

    “The Cowboys haven’t had a defensive head coach since Wade Phillips, who was fired in 2010. Saleh has had a lot of success coaching NFL defenses, but what would his plan be for Dallas’ offense? Dak Prescott is the NFL’s highest-paid player. CeeDee Lamb is the league’s second-highest-paid wide receiver. Saleh’s offensive plan and pick for offensive coordinator will be very important in any discussions with the Cowboys.” —Jon Machota

    Ben Johnson (+700)

    “For the second consecutive hiring cycle, the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator has been one of the league’s top candidates. Since taking over their offense, Johnson has had the group among the best in the league, and few are able to match his creativity. Maybe his most impressive accomplishment has been turning veteran QB Jared Goff into one of the league’s top players. Johnson has had an opportunity to leave but has been careful about choosing the right opportunity.” Jon Machota and Saad Yousuf

    Kliff Kingsbury (+850)

    “Kingsbury is known as a quarterback-centric coach, who has helped Jayden Daniels to his impressive rookie campaign in Washington. There are questions with Kingsbury, and those were getting louder in the second half of the regular season when his offense in Washington went stale. A Commanders playoff run could mask a lot, but the biggest question to consider will be if Kingsbury is better suited with an NFL ceiling as a coordinator or if he’s capable of being a more successful head coach than what he showed previously in Arizona (28-37-1, one playoff appearance in four seasons).” —Jon Machota and Saad Yousuf

    Joe Brady (+850)

    “Brady is a hot name for the way he transformed the offense after taking over as Buffalo’s offensive coordinator. While his work in Buffalo has been impressive, there is a question of how good of a fit he would be for what’s in Dallas. The two high points for Brady were in 2019 after his work as LSU’s passing game coordinator and wide receiver coach and present day as the Bills’ offensive coordinator. In those situations, he had Joe Burrow and Josh Allen as his quarterbacks. Prescott is not in the same class as either, so it wouldn’t quite be apples to apples for Brady.” —Jon Machota and Saad Yousuf

    Bill Belichick (+1200)

    “A report surfaced Monday morning that Belichick would have been interested in the Cowboys’ job but did not know it be an option before he took the position at North Carolina. It was reported last week that if Belichick leaves prior to June 1, 2025, there is a $10 million buyout.” —Jon Machota and Saad Yousuf

    What The Athletic’s readers think

    Here are the results from a poll we ran with you, our readers, on who you think the best candidate would be:

    (Photo of Deion Sanders: Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images)





    The search for the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys has been heating up, with former NFL star Deion Sanders initially being the early favorite. However, recent reports indicate that current Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has jumped ahead in the odds.

    Moore, who has been with the Cowboys since 2018, has impressed many with his play-calling and offensive strategies. He has been credited with helping quarterback Dak Prescott achieve career-high numbers and has been instrumental in the team’s success this season.

    While Sanders may have name recognition and a strong connection to the Cowboys organization, many believe that Moore’s experience and success as a coach make him the more likely candidate for the head coaching position.

    As the search continues, it will be interesting to see who ultimately lands the coveted role of leading America’s Team. Stay tuned for updates on the Cowboys’ next head coach odds.

    Tags:

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    • Kellen Moore
    • NFL coaching rumors
    • Dallas Cowboys coaching search
    • Deion Sanders next head coach
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    #Cowboys #coach #odds #Deion #Sanders #early #favorite #Kellen #Moore #jumps #ahead

  • Dallas Cowboys complete interview with Kellen Moore for vacant head coach position


    The Dallas Cowboys completed their virtual interview with Kellen Moore for the team’s vacant head coach position on Friday afternoon, the team announced.

    Dallas had requested to interview the Philadelphia offensive coordinator earlier this week. The Eagles face the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round of the playoff on Sunday.

    The Cowboys have also set interviews with Robert Saleh on Saturday and Leslie Frazier on Monday for the opening. Interviews of Saleh and Frazier would satisfy the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which requires NFL teams to interview at least one or more diverse candidates for head coaching vacancies. Jerry Jones has also reportedly talked to Colorado coach and former Cowboys star Deion Sanders.

    Moore played and coached for the Cowboys from 2015 until his departure as offensive coordinator in 2022. He spent the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Chargers and Eagles.

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    Moore was asked about the Cowboys’ opening in a news conference a day after the Cowboys parted ways with former head coach Mike McCarthy.

    “I mean, obviously I spent a lot of time there. Eight years there and so, obviously have plenty of relationships [in] that place,” Moore told reporters Tuesday. “I love it here. I’ve had so much fun here. It’s been a really fun process and we’re in a really special situation right now, getting the chance to play this Sunday. Have a chance to make a run at this thing and that’s really all you worry about.

    “Everything else is what it is and we’ll see where it takes you.”

    Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.



    The Dallas Cowboys have completed their interview with former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore for the vacant head coach position. Moore, who has been with the Cowboys since 2018, has been highly regarded for his work with the team’s offense.

    During the interview, Moore reportedly impressed team owner Jerry Jones and other decision-makers with his knowledge of the game, his leadership skills, and his vision for the future of the team. Many within the organization see Moore as a rising star in the coaching ranks and believe he could be the right fit to lead the Cowboys to success in the coming seasons.

    While no official decision has been made yet, Moore’s interview has certainly put him in strong contention for the head coaching job. Stay tuned for further updates on the Cowboys’ coaching search.

    Tags:

    • Dallas Cowboys
    • Kellen Moore
    • Head coach
    • Interview
    • Vacant position
    • NFL
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    • Coaching
    • Dallas Cowboys head coach
    • Kellen Moore interview

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