5 Mike McCarthy replacements who could overcome Jerry Jones with Cowboys

If Jerry Jones loves one thing, it is attention. If we kick it out to two, it is attention and control. Should we make it three, then attention, control and the Dallas Cowboys brand. Four would have to include his family, I believe. At a distant fifth, I guess winning would be the fifth thing? What we have here is an octogenarian owner tearing away at the fabric of the biggest NFL brand he did his part in building up.

Only twice since Jones bought the team when I was just a twinkle in my father's eye has he hired a head coach who can realistically challenge his massive ego. That would be his former Arkansas college teammate Jimmy Johnson and very briefly Bill Parcells two decades ago. In the years since it has been a lot of Jason Garretts and Mike McCarthys being controlled by their Dallas puppet master.

With a fourth Super Bowl coming in Jones' lifeline probably more of an idea than anything, the only way the Cowboys are going to get back to the promised land is if they upgrade at head coach over Mike McCarthy. No more sleepovers. No more nonsense. No more bad football. It will come down to Jones looking in the mirror for once and believing that he just might be the franchise's big problem.

To help breathe life into the organization, I think one of these five coaches could be Dallas panacea.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman

College Football Playoff-bound head coach Marcus Freeman of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is about to see his bank account grow massively. Not only does he have the Golden Domers back in the playoff, but there are at least three marquee jobs across football that could be interested in him. That would be his alma mater of Ohio State if Ryan Day is out, the Chicago Bears and maybe even Dallas?!

Freeman may be a college football head coach, but that was what Jimmy Johnson was at Miami and Oklahoma State before that before Dallas hired him. While Freeman may favor the defensive side of the ball, he is an alpha male that commands the attention of his players. He would need to hire a great staff, so I would suspect he would bring Al Golden with him to remain his solid defensive coordinator.

Besides, poaching Notre Dame's head coach to be the next Cowboys head coach steals headlines.

4. Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski

If and when the Cleveland Browns decide to move on from head coach Kevin Stefanski, the guy will be out of work for like a day. Cleveland would be so stupid to fire the best thing to happen to them since Jone Thomas, but keep in mind who owns the franchise. That would be the biggest Tennessee booster known to mankind in the meddling Jimmy Haslam. He might let out his playoff frustrations.

Should the Vols exit the playoff prematurely, Haslam may abuse his power and fire Stefanski right before Christmas. That would be dumb, but the Browns do that sort of stuff often. While I am not entirely sure if Stefanski is the alpha male needed to get out of Jones' gigantic shadow, he did change the temperature of the room when taking over for Freddie Kitchens in Cleveland years ago.

Whoever ends up employing Stefanski next year will be massive winners on the coaching carousel.

3. Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day

If Ohio State fans want to run Ryan Day out of town, Jerry Jones needs to see this as a huge opportunity for the Cowboys and take advantage of the situation. Like Kevin Stefanski over in Cleveland, Day would be out of work for like a day if he were to be let go. College teams like North Carolina and West Virginia would hire him on the spot. Day also has a background in the NFL, too.

People tend to forget that prior to taking over at Ohio State after Urban Meyer retired that he was on Chip Kelly's Philadelphia and San Francisco staffs as a quarterbacks coach. He played for Kelly at New Hampshire two decades ago. I think there is a chance that if the Buckeyes boosters want Day out that he and Kelly may bide their time before taking over the reins of the Cowboys operation.

As it would be with stealing Marcus Freeman away from Notre Dame, this would be headline stealing.

2. Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn

This might actually be the perfect hire for the Dallas Cowboys. Not only is Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn an alpha male and a leader of men, he used to play for America's Team. Because Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is everyone's favorite head-coaching candidate in this cycle besides me, he is going to take away some of the shine that I think Glenn fully deserves.

Glenn should be getting a head-coaching opportunity this offseason. If only five jobs open up, it might be cutting it close. Should we get to eight or so, including the Cowboys, now we are talking. I would suspect that Glenn would be a top candidate for two teams with head-coaching vacancies already in the New York Jets, who he played for, and the New Orleans Saints, where he coached at.

Leverage is a beautiful thing, and it is going to work out so wonderfully for Glenn's bank account.

1. Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel

I feel like I am taking crazy pills. Mike Vrabel is the best head-coaching candidate out there to be had at any level. He may covet another NFL opportunity after the Tennessee Titans moronically fired him for some stupid reason. However, he is in Ohio now on Kevin Stefanski's staff in Cleveland. Might he be a candidate to replace him from within? What about alma mater or even the Cincinnati Bengals?

The point is Vrabel will have plenty of suitors for employment next season. Whoever ends up hiring him will win and will win big right away. Vrabel has no ties to Dallas, but he is the perfect alpha male, defensive-minded coach with an elite eye for coaching talent that this Cowboys team needs. He is smart enough to lean on guys like Will McClay in the front office to help build the best team possible.

If Jerry Jones wants to hire another Jimmy Johnson or Bill Parcells, then he should hire Mike Vrabel.