{"id":21729,"date":"2025-01-24T08:24:43","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T08:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21729"},"modified":"2025-01-24T08:24:43","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T08:24:43","slug":"leading-candidate-for-cowboys-hc-job-drops-out-of-race-after-taking-nfc-dc-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=21729","title":{"rendered":"Leading Candidate For Cowboys HC Job Drops Out Of Race After Taking NFC DC Role"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/GettyImages-2175508304-e1737683149274.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/GettyImages-2175508304-e1737683149274.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/GettyImages-2175508304-e1737683149274.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/GettyImages-2175508304-e1737683149274.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Robert Saleh\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" data-img-load-time=\"607\" data-dom-ready-time=\"803\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Robert Saleh<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/dallas-cowboys\/\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a>\u2018 head coaching search feels like it is about to reach its crescendo, with Brian Schottenheimer \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/dallas-cowboys\/cowboys-close-to-hiring-new-coach-that-will-make-fans-livid\/\">close<\/a>\u201d to signing a deal to become the team\u2019s head coach, but Pete Carroll also seemingly\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/dallas-cowboys-interested-former-seahawks-001410417.html\">in the mix<\/a>\u00a0to become the team\u2019s new HC.<\/p>\n<p>The talk on Eagles OC, Kellen Moore has seemingly died down ever since his\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/dallas-cowboys\/head-coach-odds-shift-dramatically\/\">head coaching odds collapsed on betting markets<\/a>\u00a0on Monday, but it is not clear that he is totally out of the picture.<\/p>\n<h2>Saleh No Longer In The Picture To Be The Cowboys\u2019 Head Coach<\/h2>\n<p>One coach who is out of the picture, it would seem, is former\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/new-york-jets\/\">New York Jets<\/a>\u00a0head coach, Robert Saleh.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">49ers expected to hire Robert Saleh as DC, per\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MikeSilver?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MikeSilver<\/a>.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DP20UGCgAg\">pic.twitter.com\/DP20UGCgAg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Underdog NFL (@Underdog__NFL)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Underdog__NFL\/status\/1882598024066838676?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\">https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This was originally reported by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6076242\/2025\/01\/23\/robert-saleh-hired-49ers-defensive-coordinator\/\">The Athletic<\/a>\u00a0who broke that the 49ers would be bringing back their former defensive coordinator prior to his move to New York in 2021.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_1_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-1 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_1\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Saleh has been one of four coaches interviewed for the position of head coach by the Cowboys, alongside Schottenheimer, Moore, and Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier \u2013 along with the late surge news on Carroll.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Did Saleh Take The DC Job In San Francisco?<\/h2>\n<p>None of the talk over the past few days had Saleh as a true player in the Cowboys head coaching sweepstakes \u2013 with Moore, and subsequently Schottenheimer, taking up the majority of the airtime.<\/p>\n<p>The buzz around Saleh to the Cowboys became quieter and quieter; and whilst the former Jet was never fully out of contention for the role, it never really felt like Jerry Jones was ever going to select him over two familiar faces who coached on the offensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n<p>Saleh was also considered a hot name for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/jacksonville-jaguars\/\">Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a>\u00a0head coaching opening until Thursday evening,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6076242\/2025\/01\/23\/robert-saleh-hired-49ers-defensive-coordinator\/\">The Athletic<\/a>\u00a0reports.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSaleh, who was fired in October as the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/new-york-jets\/\">New York Jets<\/a>\u00a0head coach five games into his fourth season, generated interest on the head-coaching front and was seen as one of the frontrunners for the Jacksonville Jaguars job.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_2_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-2 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_2\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>His situation took a dramatic turn Thursday when\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/tampa-bay-buccaneers\/\">Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>\u00a0offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who\u2019d removed himself from the Jaguars head-coaching search a day earlier, re-inserted himself into the mix and became the favorite to win the job. What transpired between Wednesday and Thursday? The Jaguars parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke, making the job more attractive to Coen.<\/p>\n<p>Saleh, meanwhile, was supposed to fly to Jacksonville late Thursday for an interview Friday, his second with Jacksonville. As the Coen news broke, however, he canceled that flight.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_3_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-content adthrive-content-3 adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18190176,25816858\/AdThrive_Content_3\/5ad7479721520f50ab7da88e_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"google-ad-manager-fallback-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>With Coen\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/43540128\/why-jacksonville-jaguars-hire-liam-coen-head-coach-trevor-lawrence\">set to take the job in Jacksonville<\/a>, Saleh seemingly knew his head coaching options were just about up, and decided to take back his old DC job for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/san-francisco-49ers\/\">San Francisco 49ers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Saleh immediately moves into a role with which he has familiarity with the system, knowledge of players that he already did an excellent job with, and a head coach with whom he has automatic chemistry with. And with many expecting a bounce-back year in San Francisco after a 2024 dogged with injury after injury, Saleh could well ride that train into a head coaching opportunity in 2026 or beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Robert Saleh The\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u2018 head coaching search feels like it is about to reach its crescendo, with Brian Schottenheimer \u201cclose\u201d to signing a deal to become&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Leading Candidate For Cowboys HC Job Drops Out Of Race After Taking NFC DC Role - 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