3 Most Likely Cowboys Head Coaches to Replace Mike McCarthy

After the Cowboys concluded their season last Sunday, Jerry Jones left, Cowboys fans wondering for over a week whether or not Mike McCarthy would remain in Dallas.

Fans were finally given an answer on Monday when it was revealed late Monday morning that the Mike McCarthy era would be coming to an end in Dallas as that organization decided to move in another direction.

The news that McCarthy will no longer be with the Cowboys was a surprising revelation as all signs were pointing towards McCarthy remaining in Dallas just days before Monday's announcement.

With McCarthy now out the door, the question becomes who will take the helm for the Cowboys and guide the team into this new and hopefully successful era.

With Mike Vrabels recently reaching an agreement to coach the Patriots and Bill Belichick already off the market, the coaching pool is unexpectedly shallow for the Cowboys. However, several solid candidates are still available, and Jerry Jones and the rest of the Cowboys' front office will have to start making moves sooner rather than later if they want to snag a desirable candidate off the market. 

We have listed three potential candidates to replace McCarthy and potentially take the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl for the first time in this millennium. 

3. Kellen Moore, Philadelphia Eagles Offensive Coordinator

Even though Kellen Moore has been a highly respected coach in the NFL for seven years, he has not been given a head coaching opportunity yet. With the head coaching position in Dallas now vacant, Moore may finally be given his opportunity to become a head coach in the NFL.

Moore spent three years in Dallas as a backup quarterback for Tony Romo and Dak Prescott before retiring from football after the 2017 season.

After his retirement, Jones quickly made sure to give Moore a position on the coaching staff, where he started out as quarterback coach before quickly being promoted to offensive coordinator the following season. 

Moore remained the Cowboys' offensive coordinator for three years and exceeded expectations. He quickly turned the Cowboys' offense into one of the most prominent in the league. Although Moore's tenure in Dallas was successful overall, he was fired after the 2022 season due to the team's inability to succeed in the postseason. 

After leaving Dallas, Moore was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers' dynamic offense for the 2023 season. After the 2023 season, Moore left the Chargers to become the offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles, which has had one of the most ferocious offenses in the league throughout this season.

 Moore does seem like a solid fit for the Cowboys on paper, especially with how stale the team's offense was this season and Moores's proven track record of revitalizing offenses. However, hiring Moore would be eerily similar to when the Cowboys decided to make Jason Garrett the head coach in 2010 

Both Garrett's and Moore's profesional backgrounds are almost identical. Both men served as backup quarterbacks for the Cowboys and went on to be successful offensive coordinators for the Cowboys quickly after their coaching careers began.

Although Garrett was able to find some success while he was at the helm for the Cowboys, he was never able to take the team to the promised land, and the last thing that Cowboy fans want is a replica of Jason Garrett leading their team.

While it is not fair to judge Moore based on Garrett's career in Dallas, it is likely in the back of the Cowboy fans' minds as the resemblance in Moore and Garrett's careers is strikingly similar.