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FRISCO –\u00a0It may have taken longer than it needed to, but\u00a0Mike McCarthy\u00a0is out as\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0head coach, and now attention turns to\u00a0who will be his successor.<\/p>\n
Next Up? sections of the media who suggest the Dallas job isn’t a highly sought after one.<\/p>\n
Cowboys legend Troy Aikman, who knows a lot about the organization, didn’t mince his words when reacting to the head coaching change, stating on a recent ESPN Monday Night Countdown that he wouldn’t agree that the Cowboys job is a “coveted” one.<\/p>\n
Somebody inside The Star has countered that view by telling\u00a0NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport that this opening is “highly coveted.”<\/p>\n
Who is right?<\/p>\n
We have three reasons why coaches want to be here, regardless of the seeming clown show that has been performed recently.<\/p>\n
Reason 1: The lure of breaking the drought and ‘The Big Stage’<\/strong><\/p>\n Could you imagine if you were the one to end the Cowboys’ nearly three-decade-long NFC Championship drought? Or, better yet, bring a\u00a0Super Bowl\u00a0to Dallas?<\/p>\n You would be viewed differently for the rest of your life, and all that entails being linked with the Cowboys and the marketing side of the franchise.<\/p>\n With so much made of how little success Dallas has had since 1995, if the next head coach was “the” one to make all of that disappear, a statue would be built outside of AT&T Stadium.<\/p>\n That is a big carrot.<\/p>\n Combine that with something we (and coaches) talk about a lot, how\u00a0NFL coaches\u00a0consider working here “The Big Stage.”<\/p>\n Wanna be an star actor? Go to Hollywood or Broadway.<\/p>\n Wanna be a star coach? Come to Dallas.<\/p>\n Reason 2: Roster foundations:<\/strong><\/p>\n A Pro Bowl\u00a0quarterback\u00a0in Dak Prescott. An All-Pro in\u00a0CeeDee Lamb. An All-World defensive stud in Micah Parsons.<\/p>\n Writes\u00a0The Athletic:\u00a0“The Cowboys’ appeal is obvious. \u201cThe roster built to win now,\u201d a former head coach said.”<\/p>\n And they write that without even knowing about the $100 million available in 2025 cap room that says Dallas can win now and later.<\/p>\n Reason 3: The benefits of Jerry:<\/strong><\/p>\n Wait. What? It’s true.<\/p>\n Jones creates unique challenges for those who work here … the most harmful of which is the Cowboys’ marketing-first mindset.<\/p>\n But Jerry also gives his coaches latitude and freedom and tools (the facilities here between The Star and AT&T Stadium are unexcelled) and one more thing: Security.<\/p>\n From The Athletic, which surveyed five NFL coaches and asked which opening is the most appealing, with Dallas as the winner: “Working under Jones tends to provide job security: He\u2019s had five coaches since 2000, all of whom got at least three years.”<\/p>\n Could that trio of facts be enough to make this Dallas job appealing? We say yes.<\/p>\n And we bet the candidates who interview here will say the same.<\/p>\n