NFL Rumors: Cowboys linked with bringing back familiar name as Mike McCarthy's replacement, steering clear of Deion Sanders

It's Divisional Round week but it's been the Dallas Cowboys show so far. On Monday, the franchise announced parting ways with head coach Mike McCarthy, making them the sixth vacancy in the NFL. The McCarthy era ended with a 49-35 record that yielded just one win in the playoffs.

The 2024 season was a wash, given Dak Prescott had to sit out most of the year due to injury in Week 9. Dallas still has some major pieces to work with if they can get it together. All in all, coaching the most valuable franchise in all of sports would make for a pretty charming job offer for most candidates.

Billionaire franchise owner Jerry Jones seemingly has his sights set on a man who won a Super Bowl with the team - Prime Time Deion Sanders. The former NFL corner is currently head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes but with both his sons entering the 2025 NFL Draft, speculation has run rampant that Sanders could also make the leap to coaching in the NFL.

Jones reached out to Sanders to gauge his interest in coaching the franchise, following which Sanders told ESPN he loves and respects Jones but also loves life in Boulder.

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If the Cowboys fail to prise Sanders out of Boulder, ESPN's NFL insider Dan Graziano predicts Jones will bring back a familiar face - Kellen Moore.

"Moore -- who played for the Cowboys from 2015 to 2017, then spent a year as the team's quarterbacks coach and then four more as the offensive coordinator -- has an obvious connection to the organization and its current QB. He has interviewed for head coach jobs in recent years and is on some teams' interview lists in this cycle, as well," Graziano wrote.

Moore served as the Cowboys' offensive coordinator in 2022 before being replaced by Brian Schottenheimer. He then landed a job as the Los Angeles Chargers' offensive coordinator before eventually landing with the Philadelphia Eagles in the same role.

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Exploring potential list of candidates to replace Mike McCarthy at Cowboys

Jerry Jones' Cowboys timed themselves out of an interview with Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson and his colleague, DC Aaron Glenn. But they could still interview a few respected candidates including Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores and former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

There has also been speculation that they could interview former tight end Jason Witten, who has been serving as the head coach at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas for the last four years.