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Coach Ben McAdoo Officially Hired by Panthers, Leaves Cowboys

The Carolina Panthers hire Ben McAdoo for their offensive coordinator position.
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FRISCO - As Kellen Moore continues an interview process that could see him leaving the Cowboys to become a head coach, a subtle Dallas name is in the news.

And he might not stay "subtle'' for long.

The Carolina Panthers will hire Ben McAdoo for their offensive coordinator position, NFL Network reports, just as Moore is scheduled to get another visit for an NFL vacancy as a top guy.

UPDATE: On Monday, the Panthers made it official, announcing they've agreed to a contract with new offensive coordinator McAdoo.

Moore is on the interview list of the Denver Broncos, who as CowboysSI.com was first to report, had a management group traveling to DFW last Tuesday to interview both Moore and Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Now that the Cowboys have been ousted from the NFL playoffs, Moore (who already interviewed with Jacksonville) is meeting with Minnesota and Miami and more.

Quinn, who CowboysSI.com reported a week ago is Denver's "zeroed-in'' target, will have at least five head-coach interviews.

And what does McAdoo have to do with all of this?

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Should Moore depart Dallas, McAdoo - the former New York Giants coach who was fired in late 2017 following a 2-10 start and who in 2021 worked as a consultant for the Cowboys this season after spending a year as Jacksonville’s quarterbacks coach - was thought to be an in-house candidate to move up and become the Dallas coordinator.

McAdoo is not a popular name in Cowboys Nation, largely due to his Giants foibles. But despite the lack of a title here at The Star, he was a helper as Dallas built the league's No. 1 offense.

McAdoo was Aaron Rodgers’ quarterbacks coach in Green Bay in 2012-13. His Giants’ 2016 team went 11-5 and made the playoffs.

Not to be disregarded is his familial relationship with staying-in-charge Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy; the two of them are "Pittsburgh guys.'' and McCarthy is McAdoo's mentor.

Dallas QB Dak Prescott might have a say in all this as well; there are those here inside The Star who think staffer Doug Nussmeier is the right "next guy.'' O-line coach Joe Philbin is deeply trusted by McCarthy and has experience as a coordinator as well. And indeed, logically, if McAdoo was going to win the coordinator job in Dallas he probably wouldn’t be leaving for Carolina.