Dez Bryant wants Jason Witten, Oklahoma’s interim offensive coordinator, to be the next head coach in Dallas, and he made the case himself on X on November 5.
“I’m just saying… if anything were to happen in Dallas…Jason Witten should be the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. I can see it..and I’d love that.”
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The post came after Dallas fell to 3-5, losing 33-30 in overtime at home to Arizona on November 1 after leading 24-10 early in the fourth quarter. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the collapse matched the largest blown fourth-quarter lead in franchise history at 14 points. Jerry Jones has ruled out an in-season change.
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Bryant and Witten shared a locker room for eight seasons, from 2010 through 2017, which gives the endorsement weight in Dallas. It also asks Jones to hand an NFL head coaching job to a man who had not called a college play until this month.
Jason Witten is a Cowboys veteran with a thin coaching file
Witten played 16 seasons in Dallas, made 11 Pro Bowls and finished with 1,228 catches for 13,046 yards and 74 touchdowns. He started at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas, in 2021 and opened 2-8. He then went 44-7 over his next four seasons, won state titles in 2023 and 2024, and posted a 27-1 record across those two years. His teams averaged a minimum of 40 points per game during that two-year dominant run, per Sooners Wire.
Oklahoma hired him as tight ends coach in January 2026. On November 2, after a 42-25 home loss to South Carolina dropped the Sooners to 4-4, Brent Venables fired coordinator Ben Arbuckle and handed Witten the play sheet. Oklahoma was averaging 22 points (108th nationally) and 336.9 yards per game (111th), according to The Athletic.
“Coach Witten will serve as offensive coordinator and play-caller for the remainder of the season. Beginning today, he will lead our offensive staff in preparing a clear and focused plan that gives our players the best opportunity to execute with confidence.”
Witten calls his first game Saturday at Florida, and Venables has said nothing is off the table regarding the permanent job, per The Oklahoman.
The Cowboys In 2026: What Has Worked And What Hasn’t
The Cowboys are last in the NFL in yards allowed (385.4 per game) and rushing yards allowed (152.8), and 27th in points (26.6). Arizona gained 467 yards, 202 on the ground, with Tyler Allgeier running for 147 yards on 11 carries and Gardner Minshew throwing three fourth-quarter touchdown passes after replacing Jacoby Brissett. The defense has been extremely leaky.
The offense has been better, if uneven. Dallas ranks seventh in scoring at 27.4 points per game, yet managed 261 net yards against Arizona, with Dak Prescott going 19 of 29 for 195 yards and taking four sacks. The run game has been a season-long hole, averaging a league-low 76 yards per game through six weeks. George Pickens has drawn 62 targets to CeeDee Lamb’s 92, per PFF.
“He needs the ball coming his way more,” Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan.
Quinnen Williams has been the exception on defense, with a team-best five sacks and 11 tackles for loss, second-most in the league. The group also held Philadelphia to seven second-half points in a 38-21 win in Week 7, which is the version of this unit Schottenheimer needs every week.
For now, Schottenheimer keeps Jones’ public support. He is in his second season on a reported $4.5 million salary, and on Tuesday Jones argued there is “zero correlation” between coaching pay and winning.
Edited by Rishabh Vanwani
