Ring the bell.
There is a rematch happening between the New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys. No, it isn’t happening on the field but rather in the job market.
On Friday, January 16, the Jets released a list of the eight people they spoke with over Zoom for their vacant defensive coordinator role.
The Cowboys confirmed on their team website that the team has or will speak to four of those same candidates for their vacant DC gig.
That group includes: Green Bay Packers defensive line coach and run game coordinator DeMarcus Covington, Denver Broncos assistant head coach and defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard, Minnesota Vikings defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Daronte Jones, and Cleveland Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda.
Cowboys Are Moving to the Next Phase of the Interview Process
ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler shared that the Cowboys are bringing in multiple candidates for in-person interviews.
That group includes Philadelphia Eagles pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach Christian Parker, former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, and Jones of the Vikings.
Jones is the only one of the group who also interviewed for the Jets’ DC gig.
Former Arizona HC Jonathan Gannon and Vikings assistant Daronte Jones also coming in, per @toddarcher
NFL Insider Josina Anderson said the Cowboys “are growing closer towards making a decision” with the DC gig.
If that information is true, it could benefit the Jets.
Explaining the NFL Rules for Interviewing Coaches
“In-person interviews with assistants who are under contract with other teams can begin on Jan. 19, unless those teams are still alive for the conference title games,” Fox Sports shared via the Associated Press.
“Those coaches must wait until Jan. 26, when either they are eliminated from the playoffs or have a bye week before the Super Bowl. Coaches on the Super Bowl teams are allowed to be interviewed through Feb. 1 but are forbidden from talking to other teams after that until Feb. 9, the day after the Super Bowl,” Fox Sports added via the AP.
This is important information because the only candidate that the Jets have spoken with who is still alive in the playoffs is Leonhard of the Broncos.
The No. 1-seeded Denver Broncos host the Buffalo Bills in the first playoff game of the NFL divisional round on Saturday, January 17. If the Broncos lose, then Leonhard can participate in an in-person interview next week. However, if Denver advances, that’ll slow down the Leonhard interview process.
ESPN’s Todd Archer confirmed on social media that “The Cowboys would not be able to have an in-person interview with Jim Leonhard until the Broncos lose or during the bye week before the Super Bowl.”
If Dallas is close to making a decision that could eliminate them from the Leonhard sweepstakes. ESPN’s Rich Cimini explained that from a Jets perspective, their DC search is going to drag on.
“This is going to be a long process. It might not be until late January before that gets done,” Cimini explained on the “Flight Deck” podcast earlier this month.
Leonhard is considered the best DC candidate that the Jets spoke to in the first round of interviews.
Jets Are Battling Cowboys for Same Top DC Candidates