Cowboys ‘Fascinated’ by Pairing Legendary Coach With 11-Time Pro Bowler

Getty Ex-Cowboys stars Jason Witten (left) and Troy Aikman

For the Cowboys, there are still seven games left to play, but there is not a whole lot to be accomplished in those seven games. They’re 3-7 and on a five-game losing streak, with virtually no shot left at earning a playoff spot. Landing the best possible pick in the 2025 NFL draft is issue No. 1 for Dallas.

Also at issue, though, is the future of head coach Mike McCarthy, who appears safe enough when it comes to running out the clock on the 2024 season. Owner Jerry Jones has said he will not make an in-season change.

But McCarthy is in the final year of his contract, and the percentage chance that he returns to Dallas is about on par with the percentage chance that the Cowboys rally to win the Super Bowl this season. The natural question, then, is who’s on deck to replace McCarthy?

Cowboys Next Move: Bill Belichick & … Jason Witten?

At the Dallas Morning-News, three veteran Cowboys writers chatted about the subject on the “SportsDay Insider” podcast this week, and one of the reporters–David Moore–floated an interesting name: ex-Cowboys star tight end Jason Witten, who earned 11 Pro Bowl nods in his 16 years in Dallas.

Witten has zero coaching experience in college or pros, and is currently the head coach at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas. He’s not ready to take on the job of coaching the Cowboys. But what if he could be paired with an all-time great who probably will only want to couch for a couple of seasons?

That coach, of course, is Bill Belichick, who has a solid relationship with Jones and was linked to the Cowboys job before the team decided to bring back McCarthy for 2024.

Belichick-Witten, 2025?

“Jason Witten is in the conversation somewhere, I am just telling you,” Moore said. “I’m not saying head coach next year. But if you want to talk about a package of him and Belichick, and him being an assistant head coach with the idea that the transition goes to him, that is something, a bridge to the future that Jerry would be fascinated by.

“Just knowing how Jerry Jones thinks and what he’s done in the past and his affinity and respect for Jason Witten, you cannot rule him out of the conversation when they’re looking at how should we proceed here.”