The Dallas Cowboys are searching for their fourth defensive coordinator in as many years after making the obvious decision to fire Matt Eberflus after the worst defensive season in franchise history.
Well, it only took a couple of days after that for Dallas to finalize its first slate of interviews. ESPN's Todd Archer has reported that the Cowboys have requested to interview Broncos assistant head coach and passing game coordinator Jim Leonhard, Vikings passing game coordinator Daronte Jones, and Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda.
That is a highly encouraging list for numerous reasons, as Leonhard is one of the most highly-regarded assistant coaches in football. He's widely viewed as a future head coach, and while he's never called plays in the NFL, that Denver made him its assistant head coach behind Sean Payton says everything about how he's viewed in that organization.
Cowboys' first list of DC interview requests includes dream candidate Jim Leonhard
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores might sit atop Cowboys fans' wishlist. Flores already has experience calling a defense, and he's arguably the best in the league at it.
Having said that, Leonhard is a clear No. 2 in the pecking order. He checks every box that Brian Schottenheimer listed in Wednesday's end-of-season press conference when he was asked what he's looking for in the team's next defensive coordinator.
Schottenheimer was even asked directly about Leonhard, who overlapped with Schottenheimer on the New York Jets from 2009 to 2011.
“I saw Jim before we played Denver,” Schottenheimer said. “Jim’s a heck of football coach. You talk about a great football player, man. We had some great years together in New York. Again, I would not say we’ve stayed in touch. This business is hard. You get going a million miles [an hour]. You got to speak to what Sean [Payton] and what that entire staff has done there. Vance Joseph is a guy I have a ton of respect for. Jim’s an excellent coach.”
Leonhard quickly made a name for himself as the defensive coordinator at his alma mater, Wisconsin, from 2017 to 2022. While the Cowboys typically gravitate towards coaches who have been a DC at the pro level, Leonhard's play-calling background will surely appease the Joneses.
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Leonhard made the jump to the NFL in 2024 and enjoyed instant success as the Broncos' passing game coordinator. This past season, Denver ranked sixth in EPA per pass (-0.11), second in completion rate allowed (57.84 percent), and fourth in passing touchdowns (18), per Sumer Sports.
The key to the Cowboys landing Leonhard will be if the Broncos can retain current DC Vance Joseph, who's a popular head coach candidate this hiring cycle. If he leaves to become a HC, Denver will likely promote Leonhard to defensive coordinator while keeping his title as assistant head coach.
However, the Broncos can't block Leonhard from taking an interview with Dallas since he would be interviewing for a vertical move, not a lateral one.
More names are certainly going to enter the mix, but Cowboys fans have to love how the search has started. This team wouldn't have even given Leonhard an interview in the past.