Jerry Jones once said that 500 coaches could have won Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys teams of the early 1990s. The owner and manager has hired six employees since winning two Super Bowls with Jimmy Johnson and one Super Bowl with Barry Switzer. None of the following teams managed to get the Cowboys past the divisional round of the playoffs.

“I always know coaches and where they’ve been,” Jones said after Dallas’ regular-season loss eight days ago. “When we go to Mobile (for the Senior Bowl), you’ll see about 500 of them there that would like to be on the team. The number 500 got me into trouble, but there are so many. And you’ll see coaches there who were on the Super Bowl team. There are probably Super Bowl coaches out here right now who would coach again if given the opportunity. In my opinion there are.”

With the Cowboys and Mike McCarthy parting ways on Monday, Jones will now get another shot.

There is no obvious choice to become Dallas’ 10th head coach in franchise history. But there are several names that might make sense. Here’s a breakdown of some of the top candidates.

Former head coaches

Ron Rivera

The former linebacker, who won the Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears in 1985, led the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl as head coach in 2015. The Carolina team went 15-1 before ultimately losing to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50. Rivera did not have as much success as the Washington Commanders’ head coach from 2020 to 2023. They made the playoffs once, but never had a winning record in those four seasons.

Pete Carroll

He spent 14 seasons as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, reaching the Super Bowl in 2013 and 2014. The 2013 Seahawks defeated the Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl 48. Carroll’s teams reached the playoffs ten times during that time. During its best seasons, Seattle was known for having the best defense in the NFL.

Brian Flores

The Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019 to 2021. The Dolphins had a winning record in two of those three seasons, but never made the playoffs. Over the past two seasons, he has turned Minnesota’s defense into one of the best in the league.

Jon Gruden

If it weren’t for all the disgrace with which Gruden left the NFL in 2021 when he resigned from his post as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders following the email controversy, this would be a much more likely option. The current Barstool prospect is an offensive mind who has had success in multiple positions in the NFL as a head coach. He revived the Raiders in the late 1990s and won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay in 2002. As a coach under Al Davis with the Raiders, Gruden has experience working with a Jones-type owner.

Cliff Kingsbury

Kingsbury is known as a quarterback-centric coach who helped Jayden Daniels have an impressive rookie season in Washington. There are questions about Kingsbury, and they grew louder in the second half of the regular season as his offense faltered in Washington. A Commanders playoff run could obscure a lot, but the biggest question to consider will be whether Kingsbury is a better fit as a coordinator with an NFL cap, or whether he’s capable of being a more successful head coach than what he showed previously in Arizona (28-37-1, one playoff appearance in four seasons).

Top coordinators

Ben Johnson

For the second straight hiring cycle, the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator was one of the league’s top candidates. Since Johnson took over the offense, the group has been one of the best in the league, and few can match his creativity. Perhaps his most impressive accomplishment was turning veteran QB Jared Goff into one of the best players in the league. Johnson had the opportunity to leave but was cautious about choosing the right opportunity.

Aaron Glenn

The Lions’ defensive coordinator was defensive backs coach for the New Orleans Saints from 2016 to 2020. He played 15 seasons in the NFL as a cornerback and made the Pro Bowl three times. He played for the Cowboys during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. He has done an excellent job in Detroit’s defense, especially this season as they dealt with several serious injuries.

Kellen Moore

The 2023 split between the Cowboys and Moore wasn’t on the best note, but a big part of it was due to the involvement of McCarthy, who is no longer in the picture. Jones has always had great admiration for Moore, to the point that he forced McCarthy to keep Moore as offensive coordinator and play caller when McCarthy took the job in 2020. Moore’s one season in Los Angeles with the Chargers wasn’t great, but he kept the Philadelphia offense humming, thanks in large part to a plethora of weapons. With the Eagles just two wins away from a Super Bowl appearance, momentum could be building for Moore to seriously consider a head coaching job somewhere in the NFL. If that’s the case, Jones could consider it a homecoming.

Joe Brady

Brady is a hot name for the way he transformed the offense after becoming Buffalo’s offensive coordinator. While his work in Buffalo was impressive, the question is how well he would be suited to work in Dallas. The two highlights for Brady came in 2019 after working as LSU’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach and now as the Bills’ offensive coordinator. In those situations, he had Joe Burrow and Josh Allen as quarterbacks. Prescott isn’t in the same class as either of them, so it wouldn’t be quite a trade-off for Brady.

Liam Coen

Coen just completed an outstanding season as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator under difficult circumstances. He battled injuries to his two top wide receivers, with Chris Godwin missing most of the season. He helped bring in a rookie running back in Bucky Irving to elevate the offense, and quarterback Baker Mayfield is in a similar class to Prescott. Before Tampa Bay, Coen spent four years in various positions, including as the Rams’ offensive coordinator under Sean McVay in 2022.

Wildcards

Bill Belichick

A report surfaced Monday morning that Belichick was interested in the Cowboys job but didn’t know it was an option before taking the position with North Carolina. Last week it was reported that if Belichick leaves before June 1, 2025, there will be a $10 million buyout.

Mike Tomlin

There were no significant reports suggesting that Tomlin would be fired or that the Cowboys would trade for the Steelers coach, but experts such as former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson and former NFL quarterback and The athlete Contributor Chase Daniel talked about Tomlin’s pass in Dallas.

Do the Dallas Cowboys have the most coveted job in sports?

We bet @ChaseDaniel put to the test ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/VXL59kNskl

– The Athlete (@TheAthletic) January 13, 2025

Jason Witten

He has no NFL coaching experience, but his time as a player with the organization makes him a notable player. He is unlikely to be considered at this point, but could be a more likely candidate in the coming years.

Deion Sanders

His connection to the Cowboys, his popularity, his big personality and his success as Colorado’s coach make him an interesting name. Highly unlikely, but he has a good relationship with Jones.

(Top photo by Ben Johnson: Junfu Han / Imagn Images)