“Monday Night Football” commentator and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman had some harsh opinions about the now-vacant Cowboys head-coaching position before Monday night’s wild-card game between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams.
When asked about the Cowboys opening — framed by host Scott Van Pent as a position “as coveted as any” — Aikman said he was surprised Mike McCarthy was let go and that the move made the front office seem as if it hasn’t thought through the job.
“It suggests that there’s not a real plan,” Aikman said. “I mean, in the fact that they haven’t had the opportunity to maybe interview a Ben Johnson and some of these others, Aaron Glenn.”
Dallas did not reach a contract extension with McCarthy before his deal expired, Jerry Jones said Tuesday. The Cowboys owner added: “Prior to reaching the point of contract negotiations, though, it became mutually clear that it would be better for each of us to head in a different direction.”
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Aikman said former Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore would be a “logical” candidate for the job. Moore was a quarterback for the Cowboys for three seasons before becoming the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2018. Moore then worked his way up to offensive coordinator in 2019 and was retained in the same capacity when McCarthy was hired in 2020.
“He’s worked, obviously, with the Cowboys and with Jerry Jones” Aikman said. “They know each other very well. In fact, when Mike McCarthy got the job, it was told to Mike that Kellen Moore would be the offensive coordinator. So that’s how much the Jones family thinks of him.”
Beyond candidates like Moore, though, Aikman didn’t think many current prospective head coaches would be eager to work with the Cowboys.
“Beyond that, it’s hard to imagine, as far as a coveted job, I don’t know that that’s accurate,” Aikman said. “I mean, I do think that the Cowboys are obviously a high profile team. Whoever is covering or whoever is head coach of that team is is certainly going to draw a lot of attention. But I think most football people that take over as a head coach, they want to do it on their terms. That’s hard to do.
“If you take a Dan Campbell, for instance, is Dan Campbell Dan Campbell if he’s with the Dallas Cowboys? It’s hard to imagine that he is. It’s hard to imagine that a lot of these coaches might be. You know I love the Dallas Cowboys. I played there for 12 years. I wish them well.”
Aikman was the Cowboys’ first pick in 1989, leading Dallas to three Super Bowl wins in four years. Since Aikman and the Cowboys’ last Super Bowl win in 1995, Dallas has not made an NFC Championship appearance.
McCarthy finished his Cowboys tenure with a 49-35 record, leading Dallas to two division titles and three straight 12-5 regular-season records.
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(Photo: Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)
