NFL insider believes ‘high probability’ eventual Cowboys staff includes Jason Witten

It is starting to feel more and more like the Dallas Cowboys staff will to some degree include Jason Witten.

It has not even been a week since the Dallas Cowboys moved on from Mike McCarthy and began their head coaching search. At the time of this writing there are three known official candidates, as far as interviews being scheduled – Robert Saleh, Leslie Frazier and Kellen Moore.

There are two other names who have been significantly connected to the team from a rumors standpoint and both are alum of the organization. The first, and perhaps most serious, is Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. According to reports Sanders has a high level of interest in taking the job if it is ultimately offered to him, but the word ‘if’ is obviously a significant one in that sentence.

The other name that has been tossed out relative to the job is former tight end Jason Witten. If this sounds strange to you, you are not alone. Witten last suited up for the Cowboys in 2019 and spent a season after with the Las Vegas Raiders before he retired from the game for good (obviously he retired in 2018 to pursue broadcasting before returning to Dallas). He has taken up coaching which is where this all sort of stems from, but in the high school ranks specifically. He did just lead his team to a Texas state title, for what it’s worth.

It goes without saying that Witten is an extraordinary leader and that he may one day be an amazing NFL or collegiate head coach. His career as an NFL player speaks for itself.

Talking about Jason Witten the coach though, there is not a large sample size to work with. Since retiring from the NFL for good in early 2021, Witten has served as the head coach at Liberty Christian high school. That’s it. This isn’t to diminish the value or experience that coaching in high school can provide, but it obviously is not the levels above it.

Forget his name for a moment. There is someone with only four years of coaching experience, all at the high school level as noted, who is being connected to the head coach position of the Dallas Cowboys. Read that again.

This isn’t the first time that Witten has found himself connected to a big-time job with relatively no experience. Following his final retirement from the NFL he was loosely tied to the Tennessee Volunteers job (where he is also an alum) that ultimately went to Josh Heupel. This was at a time when he had no coaching experience whatsoever.

Witten’s history in Knoxville was obviously something that served as a dot to connect at that time the way that his time with the Cowboys does in our current moment. Again, no one is denying that he could have the potential to be a great coach for someone, maybe even the Cowboys, some day, but it appears that the Cowboys are ready to bet on that.

While the idea of Witten as the head coach now may seem farfetched, it is starting to seem more and more likely he is going to join this team’s staff in some sort of capacity. Keep in mind that this is well before the actual head coach is in play. This is part of the problem as far as the Cowboys are concerned overall, but that is just part of the game unfortunately.

Longtime reporter Ed Werder noted on Thursday that he believes there is a “very high probability” that Witten will be a part of this team’s staff. For what it’s worth, this is in line with the report that Mike McCarthy was asked to take Witten on as an heir apparent.

Werder notes what you are probably thinking a la Biff Tannen in that there is something very familiar about all of this. For those who forgot or were actually unaware, the Cowboys hired Jason Garrett to be their offensive coordinator in 2007 before they hired Wade Phillips as head coach. Yes, that’s correct. Phillips inherited Garrett, and to no one’s surprise, the latter got the job when the former was ousted a few years later.

Garrett was eight years removed from playing for the Cowboys when they hired him in 2007 and Witten is only five at this point in time. The similarities are uncanny. The Cowboys may very well believe in Witten as a coach, but they are clearly looking to find some sort of internal diamond in the rough for some level of homegrown magic. Why else would they be so hellbent on Witten joining a staff that doesn’t even exist yet?

Maybe Witten will make a fine position coach or coordinator and turn into a wonderful head coach. That certainly exists in a world of infinite possibilities. We all obviously would love for that to be the case.

But whether you, I or more importantly the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys agrees with it or not, the organization seems ready to try and make it happen.