FRISCO - We've had enough conversations with Jerry Jones to know what he thinks of Jason Witten the man.
And we've had enough conversations with Witten to know what he thinks of himself as a coach.
Is there a match there? And does the match have to come in the form of "Gold-Jacket Witt'' making the leap from high school to NFL head coach?
The Dallas Cowboys have parted ways with head coach Mike McCarthy, and they are now (as usual) the most above-the-fold story of the NFL.
Controversial wrinkles are coming into focus; Did McCarthy leave in part because he disagreed with a Jerry vision of Witten joining the staff in 2025 as the clear heir apparent to "Big Mike''?
Great old stories are moving back to the surface, like our tale of how Jerry views Witten as a real-life John Wayne.
Soon enough, Jones - who has undoubtedly discussed at least generally this idea with Witten directly - will speak on it all.
And as to Witten himself speaking on it? We'll go with a "kinda'' for now.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram apparently bumped into the legendary ex-Cowboys tight end Jason Witten at PR event and posed a question about his candidacy for the team's head coaching opening.
Per the paper, Witten replied that the head coaching search and the list of potential candidates had "intrigue," (apparently the reporter's word) ... but said little more.
Witten is an accomplished head coach at the high school level, winning two state championships in Texas. He has never coached past that level, however.
But like other ex-Cowboys like Deion Sanders, Aaron Glenn and Kellen Moore, he does check a great number of Jerry Jones boxes. ... and that's enough for us to keep Witten on the same list of candidates we built months ago.
In fact ... let's go with a hint from a source: What if Witten comes back to The Star as a top assistant to, say, Kellen Moore? Or Kliff Kingsbury? Or Aaron Glenn? Or, really, anybody who comes here with more experience ... with the future Hall of Famer Witten contributing and learning all at the same time?
While we're at it ... Does Brian Schottenheimer fit here? Doug Nussmeier? Anthony Lynn?
Can it be awkward when the ownership family has a heavy hand in assembling a coaching staff? Indeed. But who would object to having a Witten on staff?
Not many who know the way it works here inside The Star.
