Stephen Jones optimistic about Cowboys' defensive coordinator search process

Dallas Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones appears optimistic about the team's search for a new defensive coordinator.

Dallas Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones at training camp at the River Ridge Fields. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Dallas Cowboys' search for a new defensive coordinator is in full swing, with nine candidates in the mix to kickstart the process. More names could come with a second wave of interviews, but Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones recently shared the latest on the team's approach.

Jones identified what the team is looking for in its search, which includes several assistants from around the NFL.

Unlike past years, the Cowboys aren't hyper-focused on bringing in coaches with previous head coaching experience.

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Instead, some up-and-coming names in the coaching ranks entered the mix, including 33-year-old Zach Orr, who most recently served as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens.

Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Zach Orr reacts on the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

If Orr were to be hired by Dallas, he would be the youngest defensive coordinator in team history.

It's promising to see the team open to all options, and Jones opened up on how everything is taking shape.

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Trusting the process

Dallas Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones and head coach Brian Schottenheimer speak to the media at a press conference at the Star. | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

According to Jones, the initial list of candidates will begin to narrow down for in-person interviews, but he has an optimistic outlook on the "good progress" the team is making in its search.

"I think we're in the initial run," Jones said. "We're going to cast a wide net, whether it's half a dozen, ten, 12 coaches when it's all said and done. I don't know what that number will be, but then we'll narrow it down. We're already starting to narrow it down and we'll start to bring guys in for in-person interviews, some of the guys that we felt were the guys that would fit.

"The guys who fit what we want to be as a defense, the identity that we want to have, that fit with the personnel that we have on the defensive side of the ball, because we think we have a lot of good pieces in place. We know we have to improve not only from a coaching staff standpoint, but we also need to improve from a personnel standpoint. So all that goes into the mix and the equation, and I think we're making good progress."

With a wide net being cast to start the search for a new defensive coordinator, it will be interesting to see who remains in the mix when the team begins to narrow down its list of candidates to "finalists" for the in-person interviews. Let's just hope it is someone who can bring in a scheme that suits the team's talent.

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