Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is aware of the endorsements of present head coach Mike McCarthy; when Troy Aikman, Tom Brady and now Dak Prescott are all saying the same positive things? That is noteworthy, and contrary to the misguided thoughts of “the casuals and the nationals,” Jones is a keen listener and gatherer of information when it comes to major decisions.

And who’ll be the head coach of “America’s Team” is pretty major.

We recently assembled a list of 2025 Dallas coaching candidates should McCarthy be let go following this season. Our list has 14 names on it but that is not meant to suggest there is any ceiling on the number of candidates the Jones family should consider. Our list, from Bill Belichick on down, does however, touch on what we know to be two keys/trends when it comes to what Jerry will be looking for in a head coach.

Those two things? One, an established relationship with the Joneses; that is, coaches who are part of a sort of “Cowboys tree.” And two, an established track record in the job.

And one of the coaches who we’re told via an NFL source will “get consideration” for a job at The Star in 2025? Robert Saleh.

That “consideration” could be as a head coach (where Saleh did not experience success in his three years with the New York Jets, where he posted just a 20-36 record) … or it could be as a defensive coordinator (a role in which he was outstanding in his four years with the San Francisco 49ers.

So his “track record” as a coordinator is a strong one; he coached in a Super Bowl for the 49ers. He was also a young assistant on a Seattle Seahawks staff when “The Legion of Boom” defense won a Super Bowl with Dan Quinn as the coordinator.

Saleh is in part a “Quinn guy.” So it’s an extended branch, but it is in a sense part of the “Cowboys tree.”

New York fired him this year after five games with a 2-3 record; they are now 1-6 without him. As it happens, he was immediately brought to Green Bay as a consultant under his friend Packers coach Matt LaFleur … and they won four of their next five games.

Saleh, 45, has another attribute: A great Cowboys nemesis of this era has been “The Shanahan Offense,” a style of play based on the teachings of 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. In theory, Shanahan’s own former defensive coodinator might be the league’s most qualified guy when it comes to beating it.

Saleh’s Jets defenses routinely ranked among the league’s best; for that reason alone he figures to be a hot name when it comes to getting a coordinator job. … and a name Cowboys Nation should file away for if/when a coaching staff search begins here inside The Star.

Saleh’s Jets defenses routinely ranked among the league’s best; for that reason alone he figures to be a hot name when it comes to getting a coordinator job. … and a name Cowboys Nation should file away for if/when a coaching staff search begins here inside The Star.