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The Dallas Cowboys can’t begin a new chapter in their franchise’s story until they know what it’s titled. Figuring out who will be the next head coach of the Cowboys is Priority No. 1. Earlier in the week Dallas announced they’d be moving on from Mike McCarthy, who throughout his five-year tenure kept the Cowboys in contention, but couldn’t get the team over the proverbial hump.
Jerry Jones isn’t just looking for a coach to keep the Cowboys in contention, but one to guide them through the playoffs. Whoever takes over for McCarthy will likely be at the helm through the final years of Dak Prescott’s career, so getting it right is paramount.
After initially getting linked to a couple high profile names, the Cowboys have now been linked to former New York Jets coach, Robert Saleh.
Saleh, a defensive guru through and through, is considered one of the best defensive minds in the NFL. From 2018 through 2020 Saleh’s San Francisco defenses ranked seventh in the NFL in EPA/play allowed. As defensive coordinator of the 49ers he built a reputation for deep defensive line rotations and traditional Cover-3 looks. He turned his success on the West Coast into a head coaching job on the East Coast when he went to the Jets in 2021.
His first year in New York was predictably poor, with Saleh going 4-13 and ranking dead last in defensive EPA allowed. One year later he propelled his defense up to No. 6 (EPA/play) and in 2023 he finished ranked an impressive No. 3. His turnaround was nothing short of astounding and it cemented his standing in the NFL as a top defensive mind.
Saleh’s career .375 win percentage in New York suggests he’s not as good of a head coach as he is a defensive coordinator. His exact value as a head coach is difficult to determine given the odd circumstances that surrounded him in New York. Aaron Rodgers came onto the scene with considerably more pull than a quarterback traditionally carries. Many speculate Rodgers was the reason Nathaniel Hackett was hired as offensive coordinator and why so many other former teammates of Rodgers were added as well.
At the time of Saleh’s dismissal, it was the offense that was floundering, not the defense that Saleh had clear control of. It’s possible Saleh’s hands were tied on offense throughout most of his time in New York, impacting his ability to truly act as a head coach.
If the Cowboys are interviewing Salah to be a potential defensive coordinator, then it’s hard to be upset. Salah has experience in both odd and even man fronts and he’s flipped from heavy single-high safety looks to more split safety looks. He’s done a little bit of everything defensively and found success every step of the way.
But if the Cowboys are seriously looking at him as a head coach, that’s a little more curious.
A .375 win percentage typically doesn’t result in a second chance right out of the gate. There are the above extraneous circumstances to consider, but a defensive-minded candidate with loads of question marks would be out of character for the Cowboys to target at head coach.
Saleh is a proven NFL coach with real skins on the wall, so he appears to be a much more legitimate option than previous names linked to Dallas. There’s a good chance Jones is looking at Saleh more as a defensive coordinator option than a head coach. If that’s the case, Saleh is one of the best coordinators on the market and the Cowboys should be praised for interest.