He may last the rest of the season now, but here are five candidates to eventually replace Jason Garrett as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
After last week’s loss to the New England Patriots, including a highly questionable decision to kick a field goal down seven points, it was easy to put Jason Garrett’s job in jeopardy if the Dallas Cowboys lost at home to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday. Some of owner Jerry Jones’ comments in the days leading up to the game did nothing to quell that speculation.
The Cowboys scored on their first drive Thanksgiving Day, then the Bill ran off 26 unanswered points on their way to a 26-15 victory. Dallas is now 6-6 on the season, with an 0-5 record against teams who are currently above .500. But an in-season move to fire Garrett, who was made into lame-duck coach going into the final year of his contract this year without an extension, does not appear likely, according to Jerry Jones.
“This is not the time for me [to make a coaching change],” Jones told reporters postgame. “I’m looking ahead at another ballgame and I’m looking ahead at winning four or five straight and helping to write a story that they’ll talk about that you were down and out and you got it done,” Jones said. “Every decision that I make over the next month will be with an eye in mind to get us in the Super Bowl now.”
So Garrett appears to be safe to coach out the final four games of the season, and any potential playoff games. But barring a run to the NFC Championship Game or Super Bowl, his run as the head coach in Dallas is set to be over after nine-plus seasons.
The move to fire Garrett is overdue, and when it comes here are five candidates to be the next Cowboys’ head coach.
5. Bob Stoops, Dallas Renegades head coach/GM
Stoops, of course, made his name over a long and successful run as head coach at the University of Oklahoma, with a 190-48 record from 1999-2016 before surprisingly retiring in June of 2017. He was hired as head coach and general manager of the Dallas Renegades in the upcoming reboot of the XFL, so despite some early indications, he may stay out of coaching his return to the sidelines is coming.
Stoops surfaced as an NFL candidate a few times over his time in Norman, without anything happening on that front. He already has become a name-brand candidate for some openings (possible and actual right now) on the college level as this coaching carousel gets near, but with little in the way of serious traction there.
It’s unclear at best if Stoops would entertain an NFL job, or more specifically if he’d bail on his XFL job before the league even launches. The XFL could also try to block him from making that jump, as they seem ready to do with any players who get interest from the NFL. But as Jones looks for a new head coach, and perhaps one with some name cache’, Stoops should be on the early list.