Dallas Cowboys Coach Tracker: ‘Double Dip’ Hires; Joneses Meet George Edwards

FRISCO – Our Dallas Cowboys Coach Tracker … to notify you when “America’s Team” makes coaching staff decisions …

WEDNESDAY: JONESES MEETS EDWARDS In addition to the George Edwards co-ordinator interview conducted by head coach Mike McCarthy over the weekend (before Dan Quinn was hired), the Jones family have now paid a visit to Edwards about the idea that the Cowboys senior assistant in a particular capacity was The Star stays. .

Edwards, the former Viking coordinator, came here a year ago not as a Mike Nolan staffer, but rather as a McCarthy associate. He was once on the same Dolphins staff with Quinn. And he once coached linebackers for the Cowboys.

WEDNESDAY: WHITT JR. COMES ON BOARD A The Cowboys get their double wish: Head coach Mike McCarthy has Joe Whitt Jr. appointed as his defensive pass match coordinator / secondary coach. Whitt got out of his contract in Atlanta (which perhaps happened after all, including hiring the Falcons as their next coach) and gets a two-year contract here.

Whitt spent a decade on McCarthy’s Packers staff and is likely to be joined by Al Harris, the former Packers player who joined Dallas last year as DB coach. With Whitt on the way Mo Linquist will likely leave.

Dallas is also working on adding a new D-line coach. We have reported on Tosh Lupoi and Travis Jones. (See below.) Add now Giff Smith on the mix.

TUESDAY: COACH CAMPBELL? Could Dan Campbell, the former tight end of Cowboys, be the Detroit Lions’ next head coach? A source tells CowboysSI.com that although Niners coordinator Robert Saleh entered the process as a favorite, there is “ building influence ” in Detroit that could be “ in favor ” and therefore push Campbell – who was formally interviewed for the job on Monday – to the front of the pack.

Campbell is currently the assistant head coach for the New Orleans Saints and in 2015 was the interim head coach for the Miami Dolphins. Campbell, 44, is a resident of Clifton, Texas, and a product of Texas A&M, and would give Lions staff an old-fashioned approach.

MONDAY: LAST WORDS “Grace, Character And Brotherhood” … Dan Quinn has come on board for a three-year deal. Do you want background? Read here: “What Dan Quinn’s ‘last words’ mean when the Dallas Cowboys hire him as defensive coordinator.”

MONDAY: QUINN STAFF? Dan Quinn’s second interview (this face-to-face) will take place on Monday and one of the topics is the proposed composition of his staff.

Quinn plus Joe Whitt Jr. (as the best defensive assistant, with a title like ‘passing-game coordinator’ or something) is the thought of many within The Star. Whitt would take over the secondary, which was a failure under McCarthy’s hand-selected executives in 2019.

One potential obstacle: What if Raheem Morris gets the job as head coach in Atlanta? In that case, Whitt could stay there as his coordinator. … which could lead to Jason Simmons getting the “pass coordinator / secondary” job.

In addition, there is a vacancy in Dallas at D-line coach. Leon Lett wants to retain ownership in an assistant role. An interesting name when available through change in Atlanta is Tosh Lupoi, Quinn’s defensive line coach and run-game coordinator for 2019. His resume features a five-season run in Alabama. Another name: Travis Jones, another staffer from Atlanta who was also back with Nick Saban at LSU.

Sure, Dallas is leaning towards a return to the 4-3 defense and to high school people who have experience as “teachers.”

We note that as Dallas appears to approach Quinn, a formal interview has taken place with senior staffer George Edwards. Details here.

Also: While McCarthy will certainly want to keep Scott McCurley as a linebackers coach, the front office will have a voice there – and the availability of Sean Lee as a retired player looking to embark on a coaching career could be just as good.

MONDAY: QUINN INTERVIEWS The Dallas Cowboys have added to their list of candidates to take over from defense coordinator Dan Quinn, the former Atlanta Falcons head coach.

Quinn was the head coach for the 2015-2020 Falcons, a run with a few playoff berths with a Super Bowl appearance in 2016.

READ MORE: Cowboys Interview Falcons Ex Dan Quinn

Click above. The coordinator’s credentials are impressive … then read below how this isn’t necessarily Mike McCarthy’s ‘man’ … which might be a good thing.

SUNDAY PM: IT’S ‘MCCARTHY’S RENT,’ BUT … A source tells CowboysSI.com that this is “McCarthy’s appointment.” But we are also told that during the interview process, a “top front office manager” may also be present at the visits.

SUNDAY PM: CAROLINA ASSISTANT INTERVIEWS Another candidate comes to light when Panther’s defensive-pass coordinator / secondary interviewed Jason Simmons for the Dallas Cowboys’ coordinator job, a visit that included both Mike McCarthy and Jerry Jones for the Dallas Cowboys, according to ESPN. That information coincides with our report that a leading front office manager will be involved in the McCarthy interviews.

Simmons and McCarthy, as you might guess, worked together in Green Bay.

SUNDAY: PACKAGE? A year ago, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy went on to hire Joe Whitt as his defensive coordinator before the job went to another McCarthy friend, the now-deposed Mike Nolan.

Joe Whitt Jr. is back in the mix and interviewing for the vacancy this weekend. And perhaps one of the most appealing things about him – given his work last year as a ‘pass game coordinator’ for an Atlanta team that finished last in the NFL in pass defense – is who could go with him.

Sources indicate to CowboysSI.com that while McCarthy has no specific affiliation with former Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, Whitt clearly does – since Quinn is the man Whitt hired in Atlanta. Furthermore, the idea that McCarthy could get his way with the Whitt hire (which the head coach insists on) would perhaps be more palatable if Quinn can also come to The Star, say, as a defense line coach.

If McCarthy gets his way and hires Whitt – no guarantees there yet, as other viable candidates, including current Cowboys advisor George Edwards, also deserve discussion) – that increases the likelihood that other McCarthy executives would keep their jobs. In the case of an Edwards recruitment, he could push for some staff changes, as would most of the others coming from outside.

But if McCarthy can lure Whitt and Quinn (who, frankly, has definitely set their sights higher than being a position coach)? The Joneses may be impressed enough to allow McCarthy to get his way with regard to the rest of the defensive staff that remains in place.

SATURDAY PM: EASY EDWARDS A smart and “easy” move? Raise George Edwards. Edwards, the former Viking coordinator, is already in the building but was not technically part of the Nolan staff.

READ MORE: Marvin Lewis, Quinn, Edwards Among the Top Candidates in Dallas?

He could represent a compromise between the Jones and McCarthy family.

SATURDAY: WHITT TO INTERVIEW – WITH ONE PUSH Joe Whitt Jr. is a sensible name for McCarthy.

READ MORE: Sources: McCarthy Pushing For Whitt – which he almost hired last year

But Whitt, despite his Green Bay connection, can’t exactly use his last season in Atlanta as a resume builder.

FRIDAY: TOP DC CANDIDATES We made our list … some of them our names, but most names from inside the building or names with clear connections to those in the building.

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