FRISCO – We’ve detailed Jerry Jones’ love man crush on Jason Witten – “John Wayne” – numerous times over the years. … and this time around, it seems fairly clear that the Dallas Cowboys owner had designs on adding the future Hall of Famer to the re-tooled coaching staff.

But there are reports that the departed head coach Mike McCarthy didn’t like the idea of having Witten on-staff as an heir apparent.

And now that Brian Schottenheimer has been chosen to replace McCarthy as the head coach, there are signs that Witten will not be involved as part of the 2025 staff.

Hiring Witten, let’s say, an offensive coordinator, would have repeated a strategy the owner implemented in the mid-2000s when he hired Jason Garrett and groomed him to replace Wade Phillips.

But Garrett had NFL coaching experience at that time.

Witten is by far the best tight end in franchise history, and is the club leader in games, starts, consecutive starts, catches and yards receiving. But he has no NFL or college coaching experience.

He is an iconic figure, a leader-of-men type of guy and as a high school coach has won back-to-back state titles at Liberty Christian private school in Argyle, Texas.

But this weekend, DLLS writer Clarence Hill Jr. suggests that Witten will not “be part of the staff.”

And NFL Network’s Jane Slater has done the same, saying Witten is “not part of their considerations.”

That’s all quite a major change update from just a few days ago, when there was gossip that Jones might be considering making Witten, 42, the head coach … right now.

Is this all the result of Jerry having screwed up his own plan? Or maybe Witten himself is reading the temperature of the room and has balked at the idea of being the “heir” hanging over the shoulder of the new head coach?

In any event, Witten likely still has a future in the Cowboys organizational plans. But maybe just not on Jerry’s hoped-for timetable.