Andrew PetersJanuary 14, 2025

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A Dallas Cowboys legend disputed the idea that the head coach of his former team should be considered a coveted job following Mike McCarthy’s departure.

On Monday Night Countdown, Troy Aikman said it’s inaccurate to call the Cowboys head coaching job coveted.

“As far as a coveted job, I don’t know that that’s accurate,” Aikman said (1:10 mark). “I mean I do think the Cowboys are obviously a high-profile team. Whoever is coaching that team 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. Take Dan Campbell for example. 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. I love the Dallas Cowboys, I played there for 12 years, I wish them well, but to say that it’s a coveted job, I’m not sure I would necessarily agree with that.”

It’s fair to say that the Cowboys’ coaching job is one of the most high-profile gigs in the NFL, but that might not make it a “coveted” job.

Aikman referenced Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, who turned his team into a Super Bowl contender in just a few years. If Campbell had the same early struggles in Detroit in Dallas, he might not have made it to his third season when the Lions reached the NFC Championship.

The Cowboys have high expectations for their head coach, which is understandable given the franchise’s success, but those expectations could lead to the coaching job being less desirable than it once was.

Of course, the job is at least desirable enough to reportedly spark the interest of a high-profile candidate like Colorado’s Deion Sanders.