The Dallas Cowboys have requested permission to interview Philadelphia offensive coordinator Kellen Moore in their search to replace Mike McCarthy, a person with knowledge of the team’s plans said Thursday.
The Cowboys also are planning to interview two former NFL head coaches in Robert Saleh and Leslie Frazier, the person told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team isn’t commenting publicly on plans for interviews.
Moore has a long history with the Cowboys, including four seasons as Dak Prescott’s play-caller. Three of those were after McCarthy was hired in 2020. The Cowboys and McCarthy parted ways this week after five seasons.
The Cowboys can meet virtually with Moore before the Eagles’ season is over, with limits on the amount of time. The NFC East champions play the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round at home Sunday.
“(I) have plenty of relationships in that place,” Moore said Tuesday. “I’ve had so much fun here. It’s been a really fun process, and we’re in a really special situation right now, getting the chance to play this Sunday, having a chance to make a run at this thing, and that’s really all you worry about. Everything else is what it is, and we’ll see where it takes you.”
Saleh was fired by the New York Jets in October, five games into his fourth season after a successful stint as the defensive coordinator in San Francisco. The 49ers have interviewed him for a return to that position.
Frazier just finished his first season as the assistant head coach on Mike Macdonald’s staff in Seattle. Frazier spent three full seasons as coach of the Minnesota Vikings after taking over with six games remaining in the 2010 season.
Like Saleh, Frazier comes from a defensive background. After getting fired by the Vikings, he was the defensive coordinator in Tampa Bay and Buffalo.
Moore joined the Cowboys as a quarterback in 2015 and was Prescott’s backup in 2017 before retiring as a player and immediately becoming his position coach. Just a year later, Moore took over the play-calling for former coach Jason Garrett’s final season in 2019.
McCarthy called plays for most of his long tenure in Green Bay, which included a Super Bowl title during the 2010 season, but decided to keep Moore in that role. Moore and the Cowboys parted ways in 2023, and McCarthy took over as the play-caller.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has spoken informally with Colorado coach Deion Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback who spent five seasons with the Cowboys. Sanders helped them win the last of the franchise’s five Super Bowl titles to cap the 1995 season.
Jason Witten, an 11-time Pro Bowl tight end who holds numerous career records with the Cowboys, has been mentioned as a potential candidate. He’s the head coach of a private high school in the Dallas area.
Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn could be another candidate for the Cowboys. The former Texas A&M player spent two seasons with the Cowboys late in his 15-year career. The Lions are the top seed in the NFC and play Washington at home in the divisional round Saturday.
JETS INTERVIEWS
The New York Jets interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik for their head coach position Thursday.
The meetings with Smith and Slowik gave the Jets 12 known candidates with whom they’ve spoken about their vacancy.
New York has also interviewed Aaron Glenn, Vance Joseph, Mike Locksley, Matt Nagy, Ron Rivera, Darren Rizzi, Rex Ryan, Steve Spagnuolo, Jeff Ulbrich and Mike Vrabel for the job. Vrabel has since been hired by New England as its coach.
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley are also expected to meet soon with the Jets.
The 42-year-old Smith, who was the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach from 2021-23, was considered one of the Jets’ top candidates in 2021 when he interviewed with the team before New York hired Robert Saleh. Smith was hired by the Falcons the next day and went 21-30, with three straight 7-10 finishes, before being fired after the 2023 season.
Mike Tomlin hired Smith last offseason to run the Steelers’ offense, which improved in several categories this season with Russell Wilson at quarterback as Pittsburgh made the playoffs.
Smith spent 10 years with Tennessee, including the last two as the Titans’ offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020. He previously had a stint with Washington as its defensive quality control coach in between college stops at North Carolina (2006) and Mississippi (2010).
The 37-year-old Slowik met with the Jets in a video interview since the Texans remain in the playoffs and are preparing to face the Chiefs in Kansas City on Saturday.
He’s in his second year running the Texans’ offense with quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was last season’s AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and has been one of the league’s most dynamic young playmakers.
Slowik, whose father Bob coaches in the CFL after several years as an NFL assistant, spent six years as an assistant under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco before joining the Texans. The Princeton, New Jersey, native started his pro coaching career as a video assistant for Washington in 2010 before being promoted to defensive assistant, a role he held for three years. Slowik then worked at Pro Football Focus as a senior analyst for three years before being hired by the 49ers.
The Jets are also conducting an extensive search for a new general manager. They have interviewed 15 candidates for that position, including Green Bay Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan and Miami Dolphins assistant general manager Brian Gaine on Tuesday.
RODGERS FOCUS ON FIRES
Aaron Rodgers’ playing future remains undecided, with the New York Jets quarterback focused on the lingering wildfires near his home in Southern California.
Rodgers said during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday that his house in the Malibu area is OK other than having dealt with a lack of power for several days. But he said many friends, including actor Miles Teller, have lost property during one of the most destructive natural disasters in the region.
“I’ve been dealing with trying to protect my house out here,” Rodgers said. “My home is fine. I’m not in the areas that have been affected, but it’s been a weird time for so many that live down here. Friends of mine have lost houses. A number of friends in Palisades have lost their homes, a number of friends in Pasadena were affected, friends around Runyon Canyon.
“It’s been a tough time, for sure.”
The 41-year-old Rodgers completed his 20th NFL season in the Jets’ win over Miami on Jan. 5. He had exit meetings the next day with owner Woody Johnson, vice chairman Christopher Johnson, team president Hymie Elhai and interim coach Jeff Ulbrich and then flew home Tuesday to Southern California, where “the whole sky was dark.”
“I got to the house and the wind’s going absolutely nuts,” he recalled. “The gate was flying off the handles, and no power.”
Rodgers said before leaving, he had “a lot of nice conversations” with the team, which is currently interviewing candidates for its general manager and head coach vacancies. Rodgers has said he would consider after the season if he wants to continue playing and would also have to see if the Jets’ new regime wants him to be part of the team moving forward if he does intend to return for a 21st season.
Rodgers said he has been in “limited communication” with the Jets’ brass because of the wildfires, but reiterated he isn’t close to making a decision on his playing future.
“I told them I’m going to take some time,” he said. “They haven’t even made a decision on a GM or a coach yet. Once that happens, then that’ll take us to the next step, which will be a conversation, I’m assuming with whoever that individual is. But this is a time when I’m taking time for my body and my mind to clear things.
“Obviously it’s different because all that’s going on in LA. And again, there’s been incredible, incredible work done by all the firefighters out here. Things are actually looking up, which is great.”
Firefighters are still battling the two largest fires, which have killed 25 people and destroyed more than 12,000 structures.
“A lot of the attention has gone to so many celebrities who lost their homes,” Rodgers said. “There’s some affluent areas in both Palisades and Malibu that got affected. But there’s a lot of other people, just your great average Southern California folks who lost everything as well. And it’s going to be tough to rebuild.”
The four-time MVP, who’s the fifth player in NFL history to throw 500 touchdown passes in the regular season, has one year of non-guaranteed money left on his contract with the Jets. But he would be due a $35 million option bonus before the regular season begins and count $23.5 million against the salary cap.
If Rodgers is cut or retires, the Jets could absorb a $49 million dead money charge next year unless they designate him a post-June 1 cut and can spread out that charge over two years.
“I think everybody understands that it’s going to come down to the GM and coach and myself,” Rodgers said, “and whether we all want to do the dance together or if it’s not in the cards.”
He also said the situation in Southern California won’t affect his decision on whether he wants to continue playing.
“Listen, I’ve sat in a hole in the ground in Nowheresville, Oregon, and I’ve sat in numerous ayahuasca ceremony circles,” Rodgers said with a smile, referring to some of his activities in previous offseasons. “So, I’ve done a lot of contemplating in my time and I’ve gotten some good perspective adjustments over the years.
“This is nothing that changes my perspective other than it’s heartbreaking.”
