For once, Cowboys fans should actually cheer for the Commanders' success

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski still had two years remaining on his rookie contract when head coach Bill Belichick slyly offered him a six-year contract extension in 2012. Gronkowski jumped at the chance to receive an $8 million signing bonus — nearly twice the value of his rookie contract — after just two NFL seasons. By signing Gronkowski early, the Patriots were able to lock down a future Hall of Fame player at a discounted rate for the next eight seasons. 

In contrast, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has delayed contract extensions, allowing players on expiring deals to gain leverage and demand lucrative contracts. Last offseason, Dallas was held hostage by All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. 

Once again, the Cowboys are facing the consequences of Jones’ unfashionably late decision-making process. This offseason, it’s affecting the team’s coaching staff. 

Cowboys coaching search would benefit from a Lions loss

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn are considered to be the league’s top coaching candidates, but the Cowboys won’t be able to interview either of them unless Detroit loses to the Washington Commanders on Sunday, per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports.

Most non-playoff teams made decisions regarding their coaching staff immediately after the final game of the regular season. The Cowboys, however, waited a week before firing Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. That delayed process caused Dallas to miss out on the window to interview assistant coaches of playoff teams.

The league has strict guidelines in place for how and when team’s can interview head coaching candidates that are currently employed by playoff teams.

• For coaches of teams that have a bye in the wild-card round, virtual interviews can be conducted three days after Week 18, but must conclude before the end of wild-card weekend.
• If a team participates in the wild-card round, their assistant coaches can interview three days after the wild-card round, but must conclude before the end of divisional-round games.

As the NFC’s top seed, the Lions earned a bye in the wild-card round. That means Johnson and Glenn were no longer eligible for interviews after Monday night’s wild-card game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings. By the time Jones decided to part ways with McCarthy on Monday morning, it was too late to request interviews with Detroit's coaches.

After the divisional round, teams cannot conduct initial interviews with coaches participating in the conference championship games or the Super Bowl until their teams are eliminated. Coaches who are on teams that make it to Super Bowl LIX can hold second interviews with teams during the bye week before Super Bowl week.

If the Lions make it to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, the Cowboys won’t be able to interview Johnson or Glenn until Monday, Feb. 10. If Dallas waits, the list of viable coaching candidates will begin to dwindle down.