The most high profile head coaching job in the NFL might be zeroing in on its target.
The Athletic’s Jon Machota reported on January 20 that the Dallas Cowboys are leaning toward Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as the franchise’s next head coach.
“This can change quickly depending on who else gets an interview, but the front-runner right now is Moore,” Machota wrote. “He was the first interview and (Jerry) Jones thinks highly of the former Cowboys QB, QB coach and offensive coordinator. It’s clear on social media that fans would prefer (Ben) Johnson and (Deion) Sanders over Moore.”
Johnson, the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, is out of the equation after reports he was going to be the next Chicago Bears head coach. That process rapidly sped up when the No. 1 seed Lions were upset, 45-31, in the NFC Divisional Round against the Washington Commanders. Sanders has yet to indicate if he would leave the University of Colorado for the NFL.
The Cowboys are coming off a 7-10 record that saw head coach Mike McCarthy ushered out after 5 seasons.
In Moore’s first season in Philadelphia, the Eagles went 14-3 in 2024 and earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC Playoffs. The offense featured a 2,000-yard NFL All-Pro running back in Saquon Barkley, an All-Pro wide receiver in A.J. Brown and a pair of All-Pro offensive linemen with tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata.
The Eagles face the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game on January 26 in Philadelphia.
Moore Has Deep Ties to Cowboys
Moore spent 8 seasons with the Cowboys in three different roles — as a backup quarterback from 2015 to 2017, quarterbacks coach in 2018 and as offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2022.
Moore was hired as the Cowboys offensive coordinator in 2019, at just 30 years old, and led one of the NFL’s top 4 offenses for from 2019 to 2022 before he was fired following a 12-5 regular season record and early playoff exit. That was followed by an ill-fated season with the Los Angeles Chargers and lame duck head coach Brandon Staley in 2023.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano put Moore on his list of the Top 10 NFL head coaching candidates for 2025.
“A couple of years ago, Moore was a popular enough candidate that he seemed on the verge of landing a head-coaching job,” Graziano wrote on December 6. “Moore has rebounded in his first season in Philadelphia, designing and calling one of the league’s most explosive offenses … If the Cowboys move on from Mike McCarthy, could Moore be a candidate to return to Dallas in the big job?”
Cowboys Spent Big on Offense in 2024
With the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991 it means that every team in the NFC has played for the NFC Championship since the last time the Cowboys made it that far following the 1995 season.
The Cowboys have spent the type of money that makes seasons like the one they had in 2024 almost intolerable.
Quarterback Dak Prescott was made the highest-paid player in NFL history with a 4-year, $240 million contract extension in September 2024 — the NFL’s first $60 million player. Just a few weeks before Prescott’s big deal, the Cowboys signed NFL All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to a 4-year, $136 million contract extension.
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