The Dallas Cowboys added themselves to the mix of teams searching for a new head coach in 2025. After five years of allowing Mike McCarthy to run the show, owner Jerry Jones has opted to allow the coach’s contract to expire without offering an extension. It will make McCarthy a free agent with more than one team showing reported interest in his services, and will leave the Cowboys with an opening for just the second time in the last 15 seasons.
Aikman Says Cowboys Job May Not Be Highly Coveted
There have been plenty of early-hour rumors about who might be in line to take the job with the Cowboys. Current Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was the early favorite due to his connection with Dallas, but rumors of the Cowboys’ interest in Jason Witten boosted him into the top spot in terms of the betting odds. There are of course the long-standing rumors of Deion Sanders moving from the college game into the NFL, and Ben Johnson and Kliff Kingsbury are also listed near the top of the board.
“I love the Dallas Cowboys. I played there for 12 years. I wish them well but to say that it’s a coveted job I’m not sure I would necessarily agree with that.”
Cowboys legend Troy Aikman does not think coaches are lining up to come to Dallas 😲 pic.twitter.com/FRC0jmSm5Q
— ESPN (@espn) January 14, 2025
But according to current analyst and former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, the job in Dallas might not be as attractive as some would think. During ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown, Aikman was asked about the situation, and had the following to say:
“(McCarthy’s firing) suggests that there’s not a real plan…I love the Dallas Cowboys, I played there for 12 years. I wish them well, but to say that it’s a coveted job, I’m not sure I would necessarily agree with that.”
During Aikman’s statement, he alluded to the fact that most new coaches would want to be able to do things their own way. That has been known to be something of an impossibility with Dallas, as they have arguably the most hands-on owner of any team in the NFL. Aikman even went as far as to pose the question of if Dan Campbell was with the Cowboys, would he really be able to be Dan Campbell?
The Cowboys are currently projected to have the 6th smallest amount of cap space for the 2025 off-season, and have the 12th pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
McCarthy was hired in 2019, and won just one playoff game despite three straight 12-5 regular season finishes. He took over for Jason Garrett, who was on the job for 10 seasons dating back to 2010. The franchise that was one proud and dominant in the 1990s hasn’t seen a Super Bowl berth since 1995, and haven’t been in a conference championship game since then, either.
