An offensive coach would allow the Cowboys to keep the focus on Prescott and Lamb while having a defensive coordinator fully dive in on a new scheme with new personnel. McCarthy always chose a defensive coordinator with head coaching experience (Mike Nolan, Dan Quinn, Zimmer) to understand the full scale of game operations.

The Cowboys are searching for a new head coach, but can they attract one of the top candidates to work with owner Jerry Jones?

Brady doesn’t have head coaching experience and that may cause some teams to shy away from him as an option, but he’s a coach whose star is on the rise and someone who, at age 35, is on the right trajectory for a top NFL coaching candidate.

Taking a look at three former Dallas Cowboys players who are real candidates for the Dallas Cowboys head coaching job.

There are assistants who have been head coaches before, like Kliff Kingsbury and Brian Flores. There are former Cowboys assistants like Kellen Moore and Wes Phillips, and Al Harris could emerge as a dark horse candidate, and that’s before the young gun coordinators like Ben Johnson, Bobby Slowik, Joe Brady and others are even mentioned.

A familiar face is favored to take over the coaching reins in Big D. See the latest odds, as America's Team begins its head coaching search.

The Dallas Cowboys and head coach Mike McCarthy will be going their separate ways. Whatever McCarthy's next career move is, he's not expected to head toward the New York Jets. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter,