The writing is on the wall. The Cowboys are 3-6 entering Monday Night Football against the Houston Texans. The team is 0-4 at home where they’ve been outscored by 94 points in those four contests. After three consecutive 12-win seasons for the Cowboys, expectations and aspirations were high for a team that has, for whatever reason, underachieved.

You could place the blame on Jerry Jones, and co-hosts of “Dad and Da ‘Boys,” myself and my father Mack, have certainly distributed blame to the Cowboys owner. No matter the case, Jerry will not fire himself. It’s all likely he will let McCarthy go and not renew his contract after this season.

This means Dallas will be in the market for a new head coach. Who could that coach be? Let’s look at some candidates.

BILL BELICHICK

Belichick is a 6-time Super Bowl Champion, all won with the “GOAT” Tom Brady. No head coach in NFL history has won a Super Bowl with two teams. Dallas was hoping Mike McCarthy would be the first, but that seems like a faint hope in the distance. Belichick has the most stacked resume of any candidate, but he will be 73 years old next season. Do the Cowboys really want to invest a year or two into Belichick as their head coach and start the coaching search all over again? You only do that if you know, for certain, this would fix your problems and land you in the Super Bowl for the 2025 or 2026 season.

Unfortunately, I don’t see Belichick as the answer. He won six Super Bowls, but none without Tom Brady. He has one winning season since Brady’s departure and his coaching record was 29-38 since 2020.

FINAL ANSWER: Pass

BRIAN FLORES

Speaking of the former Patriots head coach, Brian Flores is from the Belichick coaching tree. Typically speaking, the Belichick coaching tree hasn’t had much success in the NFL when Belichick’s assistants have gone on to coach elsewhere. Maybe that’s because the “Patriot way” doesn’t work for 31 other organizations. Flores was with the Patriots 2008-2018 in various different roles defensively, so he’s seen what it takes to build a dynasty.

Flores had his chance to be coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019-2021 with a 24-25 record across three seasons. This was obviously the rebuilding days for the Dolphins before they stacked their offense with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and explosive running backs like Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane. The criticism was regarding Flores and his relationship with young quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, so it’s clear Flores rubbed people the wrong way with a demeanor he likely picked up in New England.

However, Flores has rebuilt a reputation helping Minnesota survive defensively in a tough NFC North division this year. The Vikings are not 7-2 without Flores and his contributions to the team. But with his previous track record, I wouldn’t feel good about Dallas going the Brian Flores route.

FINAL ANSWER: Pass

MIKE VRABEL

The former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel didn’t coach for Belichick, but he did play underneath him! Vrabel is spending this year as the Cleveland Browns coaching and personnel consultant after 6 seasons in Tennessee with a 54-45 record. If you look at Vrabel’s track record in Tennessee, the Titans were known as a ground-and-pound team: something Dallas severely lacks right now. Vrabel made offenses fear playing the Titans defense, while on the opposite side, feared playing Derrick Henry. In 2024, not many teams find success relying on the run game, but the Titans made three consecutive playoff berths from 2019-2021 with incompetencies and inconsistency at the quarterback spot.

If you want to change the culture of Dallas back to controlling the line of scrimmage, dominating in the run game, and utilizing the pieces on defense to its fullest potential, Vrabel could be the guy. These are all three components that provided the Cowboys success over the last decade that have been lost in 2024.

FINAL ANSWER: Go for it!

KELLEN MOORE

Looking at some defensive-minded candidates, let’s look at getting the offense right. Many are familiar with Kellen Moore from his time in Dallas. While the Cowboys were great statistically from an offensive standpoint, generating a lot of yards and a lot of points, situationally is where Moore fell short as a play-caller for the Cowboys. After Moore was passed on the depth chart by rookie quarterback Dak Prescott in 2016, Moore retired from the field and moved into a coaching role for the Cowboys, first as a quarterbacks coach and then the offensive coordinator. So Moore had to make the drastic transition rather quickly with great scrutiny.

At just 36 years old, Moore has only experienced the Chargers and now the Eagles along with his time with the Cowboys. Has there been enough growth for this young mind to know the situational aspect of football? People can be great coordinators, but when it comes down to time management and the overseeing of an entire football team, could they crumble under pressure? Unfortunately, I don’t think enough time has passed for Kellen Moore to come in and bring a fresh, innovative perspective to the Cowboys while understanding game management.

FINAL ANSWER: Pass… for now.

BOBBY SLOWIK

Slowik is considered an offensive mind, working with offenses since 2019, but does have defensive experience as well from Washington and San Fransisco before transitioning to the other side of the football. Slowik is currently the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans. His first year came CJ Stroud’s rookie year and helped the second overall pick claim Offensive Rookie of the Year. While Slowik’s offense has slowed down with challenges in Stroud’s sophomore slump, Slowik’s edge over everyone else is the coaching tree he comes from: the Shanahan tree.

Dallas has always had issues out of the Shanahan coaching tree, reason why the Cowboys made the New Orleans Saints look like the greatest passing attack in Week 2. The Cowboys had issues out of the Packers and Aaron Rodgers, so they went and acquired Mike McCarthy when the opportunity arose. The Cowboys would be fools not to look at Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak or Houston’s Bobby Slowik. If you can’t beat the Shanahan tree, bring an insider in that will help you get past your biggest NFC obstacle: the San Fransisco 49ers.

FINAL ANSWER: Go for it!

BEN JOHNSON

The final candidate we’ll look at is the first on many lists, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. As of this writing, the Lions are 2nd in PPG (31.6), 7th in YPG (366.9), and 7th in rush YPG (147.3). The Lions could up those yard averages if the game wasn’t a blowout in the second half like it has been. Ben Johnson has taken an offense tooled with Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Sam LaPorta, and Johnson has seamlessly distributed the ball to keep defenses guessing and his stars happy. Before Ben Johnson, Jared Goff was collateral in the Matthew Stafford trade because the Rams didn’t feel Goff could win the big one. Now the Lions are 8-1 with Goff contributing to potentially a deep playoff run.

The two concerns about Ben Johnson would be, first, he isn’t from a prominent coaching tree like Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVay, so he would be the trail blazer for his kind to get an opportunity at the head coaching level. Johnson also would not inherit the team he did with the Lions. He would inherit a capable quarterback coming off his second significant injury, a star wide receiver, and a bunch of unknowns surrounding the receiving core, running back room, and potentially a complete makeshift of the right side of his offensive line. Could he thrive in a brand new role and with less weapons?

Ben Johnson might also decline the Cowboys’ head coaching job. He rejected the Washington Commanders last year due to the ownership group and not fully knowing if the owners were “all in” about winning. And if we have any insight to the Cowboys after this year, Jerry Jones wasn’t fully honest about being “all in.” Would Ben Johnson even say yes? But should Dallas pursue Johnson?

FINAL ANSWER: By all means, YES!

The Cowboys shouldn’t be looking at a rebuild with an impatient fanbase, a star QB and WR locked up, and three consecutive 12-win seasons before this abysmal year. So whoever is after Mike McCarthy, if the Cowboys opt not to re-sign him, will need to come in, boots to the ground, and bring playoff success to the Cowboys for the first time since the 1990’s dynasty.