NFL Rumors: 3 Dan Quinn replacements Cowboys need to have ready if DC leaves

2. Mike Vrabel (Former Titans head coach)

I'll stand on my soapbox for as long as it takes saying that the Tennessee Titans made a mistake firing now-former head coach Mike Vrabel. But that's a decision that can't be undone now, so many figured that Vrabel would land a new gig somewhere else as a head coach for a franchise looking to capitalize on the mistake made in Nashville.

Shockingly, though, that hasn't been the case and, frankly, it's not looking like it will be the case for Vrabel as he's not one of the frontrunners in Seattle or Washington. But as we've seen many times in the NFL, that doesn't mean he won't catch on somewhere else, so why not the Cowboys?

While many looked at the job that Vrabel and then-OC Arthru Smith did maximizing Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry on offense, Vrabel's defensive background made that side of the ball in Tennessee an unsung hero behind the franchise's success.

Before we saw the roster-building start to decline for the Titans after the 2021 season, Vrabel consistently had the defense among the best in the league, finishing inside the Top 11 scoring defenses in the league three times from 2018 (when he was hired) through 2021, including finishing as the third-best scoring defense in the league in 2018.

Vrabel is probably over-qualified for a defensive coordinator position at this point and his tenure might be short if the Cowboys were to hire him. However, as the franchise tries to do everything possible to chase a title, that short-term investment in Vrabel could pay huge dividends defensively.