The Dallas Cowboys need an offensive and defensive coordinator, and they have their feelers out searching for the next big coach.
Mike Zimmer will not return, and retirement is the most likely next step for the old coach.
The offensive coordinator position was opened after the Cowboys promoted Brian Schottenheimer to head coach.
The Cowboys front office and the new head coach have some work to do in filling their staff, as these are not the only positions open on the coaching staff.
This article will only focus on the offensive and defensive coordinator openings.
Let’s look at the three latest names to get interviews with the Dallas Cowboys.
Kevin Kroger of the Atlanta Falcons
Kevin Kroger, currently the Atlanta Falcons’ tight ends coach, is set to interview for the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator position.
Kroger also earned an interview with the Cleveland Browns for their offensive coordinator position, but it ultimately went to Tommy Rees.
Kroger,35, began his NFL coaching career with the Green Bay Packers, serving as their quality control coach from 2019-20 under Offensive Coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
Kevin Kroger left the Packers to become the tight ends coach of the Los Angeles Chargers for three seasons from 2021 to 2023.
In his first two seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021 and 2022, Koger played a pivotal role on an offensive staff that achieved remarkable success.
The Chargers consistently ranked in the top five for passing offense and in the top ten for total offense during both years.
In 2022, they dominated, ranking third in passing offense, averaging 269.6 yards per game, and ninth in total offense, averaging 359.3 yards per game.
Despite facing injury challenges, the tight ends excelled, combining for 83 receptions, which placed them tenth among all tight end groups in the NFL for the 2022 season.
This could be a promising young coach to which the Cowboys’ offensive players can relate. His experience under three different offensive coordinators gives him some adaptability in offensive schemes.
There does not seem to be a connection to the Cowboys or Brian Schottenheimer.
Ryan Crow of the Miami Dolphins
Ryan Crow (38), currently the Miami Dolphins outside linebackers coach, is set to interview with the Dallas Cowboys for the defensive coordinator position.
Crow began his NFL career with the Tennessee Titans as a defensive assistant in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, he became Tennessee’s assistant special teams coach.
Ryan Crow’s first season as an outside linebackers coach with the Titans was in 2021. He played a key role in helping Harold Landry III earn his first Pro Bowl selection.
Landry achieved a career-high 12.0 sacks and recorded 75 tackles, ranking 10th in the league for sacks and the highest total by a Titan since 2010.
He was among only four NFL players with 75+ tackles and 10+ sacks in 2021, alongside Micah Parsons, Aaron Donald, and Cameron Heyward. Autry contributed 9.0 sacks, placing him 21st in the NFL.
The Tennessee Titans secured 12 wins and the AFC South title, boasting the league’s sixth-best scoring defense and second-best rushing defense.
Crow joined the Dolphins for this season, bringing experience from six successful years with Vrabel and the Tennessee Titans.
The unit succeeded with rookie Chop Robinson, who showed he could handle the pressure of the NFL with six sacks and was named to the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team.
However, it is important to note that there is no established connection between Crow and Schottenheimer in Dallas.
Andre Curtis of the Chicago Bears
Andre Curtis (48) is the Chicago Bears’ safeties coach with 18 years of NFL coaching experience.
He has spent seven seasons in Seattle from 2015 to 2021, three in New Orleans from 2012 to 2014, three in St. Louis from 2009 to 2011, and three with the New York Giants from 2006 to 2008.
Andre Curtis’ most important coaching job, in relation to the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator position, may have been with the Seattle Seahawks from 2018 to 2020.
These years on the Seahawks staff would see him cross paths with Brian Schottenheimer, who was also on staff as the offensive coordinator.
During his time with the Seahawks, six defensive backs achieved an impressive nine Pro Bowl selections: Kam Chancellor (2015), Richard Sherman (2015, 2016), Earl Thomas (2015, 2017), Shaquill Griffin (2019), Jamal Adams (2020), and Quandre Diggs (2020, 2021).
In his first season in 2015, Curtis set the stage for the Seahawks’ secondary to excel. The defense featured three Pro Bowlers—Chancellor, Sherman, and Thomas—and established itself as the second-best in the NFL.
In 2017, Curtis led the defensive backs, guiding Thomas to his sixth Pro Bowl selection and helping Sherman secure his fourth.
By the end of 2018, Seattle’s secondary had strengthened with new starters: Flowers, safety Bradley McDougald, and safety Tedric Thompson enhancing the defense’s effectiveness.
In 2019, Griffin made a statement with his Pro Bowl debut, achieving a career-high 65 tackles and 13 passes defended. Curtis’s mentorship following Diggs’s mid-season trade from Detroit had an immediate impact.
In 2020, Curtis was crucial in coaching Adams and Diggs to Pro Bowl honors. Adams set the NFL record for most sacks by a defensive back in a season (9.5) and led his team in that category, while Diggs tied for fourth in the league with five interceptions.
In 2021, Curtis guided Diggs to his second Pro Bowl selection with five interceptions, making him the only player in the NFL to record at least three interceptions in each of the last five seasons.
Diggs set a career-high with 94 tackles, while Adams finished with 87 tackles, two interceptions, and five passes defended despite missing five games.
Andre Curtis not only has a connection to Schottenheimer, but he also was on Matt Eberflus’ staff with the Chicago Bears.
So, if not hired as the defensive coordinator, Andre Curtis could be the new secondary coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
These three assistants have a chance to join the Dallas Cowboys staff in some form, whether as offensive or defensive coordinators, but also in some other role, which would be a promotion from their current positions.
All three coaches could bring valuable experience, and two of the three could bring some youth to the staff.