Klayton Adams appears to be the top pick for the Dallas Cowboys open OC position — and for Cowboys haters, that might actually be unfortunate. After interviewing with the team recently, Adams is now interviewing with the team in person, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
A former college football player at Boise State, Adams has risen up the coaching ranks after his playing days. Starting in college, Adams got his first NFL gig with the Indianapolis Colts as an assistant offensive line coach in 2019, then moved up to tight ends coach, and has been the Arizona Cardinals O-Line coach for the past two seasons.
The #Cowboys are interviewing #AZCardinals OL coach Klayton Adams for their offensive coordinator in person today at The Star, sources say. The favorite to land the gig on Brian Schottenheimer’s coaching staff is in the building to meet with folks after interviewing virtually. pic.twitter.com/HJvhl0eAcI
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 31, 2025
Everyone loves Klayton Adams, unfortunately for Cowboys haters
There's nothing I dislike more than giving Jerry Jones credit for a managerial move... but according to people who know ball, this is a great hire. The numbers for Arizona's offensive line were pretty stellar under Adams. His unit allowed the third-fewest pressures last season, along with giving up the fifth-fewest sacks.
Klayton Adams 2024 Cardinals Offensive Line:
— Bo Brack (@BoBrack) January 31, 2025
Allowed 5th least sacks (30)
Third least pressures allowed (180 NFL average is 213)
Cards O-line under Adams the past two seasons:
3rd in rushing yards only behind Philly and Baltimore
2nd in YPC (5.2)
Would be a big loss for AZ.
Granted, jumping from offensive line coach to offensive coordinator is a pretty massive promotion, and whether Adams can run an entire offense remains a question — but the resume up to this point is about as good as it can be without Adams actually having OC experience.
Dallas — assuming they hire Adams — will be rolling out a coaching staff with a head coach who has no head coaching experience in Brian Schottenheimer, and an offensive coordinator in Adams who has no offensive coordinator experience.
It's a relatively bold strategy from Jerry. But even without OC experience under his belt, Adams seems to be a good football mind who's certainly done his time as a specialist, and now gets his shot running an offense in Dallas with some pretty capable playmakers in Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Rico Dowdle.