NFL insider predicts Cowboys to hire surprise candidate as Mike McCarthy’s replacement

The hype surrounding the Dallas Cowboys’ now vacant head coach position continues to center on Deion Sanders, and rightfully so.

Insider Dan Graziano of ESPN fully expects the Cowboys legend and NFL Hall of Famer to be in the mix. He’s also not ruling out a potential surprise candidate currently calling plays for a bitter NFC East rival.

In fact, as we stand at this still-too-early stage of the process — the Cowboys only have one reported interview request so far, and that’s former Jets head coach Robert Saleh — Graziano predicts Jerry Jones will ultimately hire Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as his replacement for Mike McCarthy.

Here’s why Graziano believes the 36-year-old Moore is the right fit for Dallas:

The Cowboys are obviously still extremely early in their process, and we have no idea how extensive their interview list will be once they get rolling. But Moore -- who played for the Cowboys from 2015 to 2017 (including two years as Dak Prescott's backup quarterback), then spent a year as the team's quarterbacks coach and then four more as the offensive coordinator -- has an obvious connection to the organization and its current QB. He has interviewed for head coach jobs in recent years and is on some teams' interview lists in this cycle, as well.

The Cowboys' offense averaged 18.9 points per game this season, 25th in the NFL. Moore's offense in Philadelphia was sixth at 26.7 points per game.

This figures to be a polarizing pick for the Cowboys, as Moore would be replacing the coach who fired him following the 2022 season. McCarthy took over the Cowboys’ play-calling duties in 2023, and that experiment is now over after two years.

Moore spent the 2023 season as the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers, but he left for Philadelphia in the offseason after the Chargers cleared the decks for the arrival of Jim Harbaugh. He’s since taken the Eagles rushing offense to new heights, with Saquon Barkley surpassing 2,000 yards on the ground for a team that attempted the least amount of pass attempts in the NFL this season.

The Cowboys just locked up Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb to monster extensions, so it would make sense to bring back a familiar face voice in Moore. Hiring a young, first-time head coach would also allow Jerry to stay squarely in the spotlight in Dallas, which sounds silly but could actually be a factor in Jones favoring Moore over a national treasure like Sanders.

Would Moore be open to a return to Dallas? You be the judge. Here’s what he told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the potential opportunity: 

I spent a lot of time there, eight years there. So have plenty of relationships in that place. I love it here. 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.

Moore landing in Dallas is probably still a long shot at this point, as the team could potentially favor prior head coaching experience and dig deeper into the college coaching ranks. He remains a name to watch, however, as the Eagles continue another run at the Super Bowl.

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