The Dallas Cowboys moved into Week 9 with a 3-5 win-loss record following their 33-30 overtime loss against Arizona on Sunday. The team's defensive issues, ineffective offense, and inability to maintain a winning streak for more than one game have led critics to call for head coach Brian Schottenheimer's dismissal. Although Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stated that changing head coaches midseason was not on his mind, former Cowboys star Dez Bryant has put forward his take on who he feels could be the Cowboys' next head coach.
The former wide receiver posted on X on November 5
, pitching offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners and former Cowboys tight end Jason Witton as a candidate for the head coach position.
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"I'm just saying… if anything were to happen in Dallas…Jason Witten should be the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys," Bryant wrote. "I can see it..and I'd love that."
Bryant played together with Witten for eight years between 2010 and 2017, and is well-aware of his former colleague's talents. Not only were they a core part of the Cowboys' offense at the time, but Witten also closely followed Bryant in setting the franchise record for most receiving touchdowns scored. Having spent over a decade with Dallas, Bryant believes that Witten is intimately familiar with the Cowboys' dynamics and approach toward the game, and would make for a good head coach if owner Jerry Jones decides that Schottenheimer is not it.
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Across his 16 years with the Cowboys, Witten played 255 games, starting 245 of them. He scored 1215 receptions for 12977 yards, along with 72 touchdowns. He was also selected for the Pro Bowl
11 times across his career. In fact, when the tight end retired in 2018, Bryant praised him by calling him the "greatest of all time" and believed that he is worthy of a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection.
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But it's not just his playing skills that led Bryant to recommend Witten for the role. Witten's caliber as a coach has already been recognized at the college-football level.
The former Cowboys player started his coaching career in 2021 as the Started his coaching career as head coach and offensive play-caller at Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas. He remained with the institution for four years, leading the team to state championships in 2023 and 2024 and compiling a 26-1 record across those two years.
He was hired by Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables in January 2026 as the team's tight end coach, marking his entry into the college football scene. Witten pointed to his experience as a veteran tight end to connect with the players at Liberty Christian School. He believed that experience would help him navigate his new role in Oklahoma as well.
"The greatest teaching tool for me was coaching high school because it really taught me, coming from the NFL, that they don't learn like I do," he said. "I learned they don't have the same expectation. So how do I impact, how do I reach them, how do I get that?"
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However, Oklahoma's recent struggles led to the university firing former offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle on November 2. Since the tight ends (coached by Witten) remained one of the only silver linings of the team's offense, Venables announced that Witten will be stepping in as interim offensive coordinator
and play-caller for the remainder of the season.
"Beginning today, he [Witten] will lead our offensive staff in preparing a clear and focused plan that gives our players the best opportunity to execute with confidence," Venables said in a statement on November 3.
As Witten's first major coaching stint at the collegiate level, how Witten guides the Sooners could give Cowboys fans insight into whether Bryant's recommendation is solid, in case Jerry Jones changes his mind
about removing Schottenheimer.
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