Nov 5, 2026 12:28 PM

As pressure mounts on Dallas’ current staff, Dez Bryant and other franchise icons are rallying behind the gritty tight end to restore a culture of leadership.

Given how Brian Schottenheimer's tenure as Dallas Cowboys is currently going, many want owner Jerry Jones to move on from this head coach.

Now, we know that Jerry isn't one to fire a coach mid-season, so Cowboys Nation, you are likely stuck with Schottenheimer for this season.

But after that?

A chorus of former Cowboys players already appears to be throwing support behind franchise legend Jason Witten as a someday head coach in Dallas.

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Currently, Witten is the offensive play-caller for the Oklahoma Sooners after being elevated from tight ends coach this week.

Many think he's doing his apprenticeship in college football.

But as it pertains to being a head coach, and more specifically, a head coach in Dallas, Witten has support ... and from players who we should take notice of.

We first saw former receiver Dez Bryant post on X: 

"I’m just saying… if anything were to happen in Dallas…Jason Witten should be the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. I can see it..and I’d love that."

Then we have two other franchise legends, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin, who, like Dez, endorsed Witten as a potential head coach.

"I think Witt would be a great coach in the NFL," Frederick said via the Haymaker Network. "Part of that is during my entire tenure with him, he was (in effect) a coach.

"He understands the game at such a high level, and he communicates it well. He's believable, and you want to follow him. I think he'd do a great job, and I think the Cowboys would be well-suited to be a landing spot."

And then come Martin's comments, which illustrate the type of coach Witten could be - one we'll argue this current version of the Cowboys desperately needs.

"He leads by example better than anyone I've been around," Martin added. "The dude walks the walk at all times. The guy is as old-school as it gets with how you work. The secret is in the dirt, he believed in that, and he showed it every day. He's a leader of men, he will be a head coach someday."

So that is three very prominent former Cowboys players throwing their support behind Witten as a head coach.

But only one opinion truly matters: owner Jerry Jones.

He makes all the calls, so Jerry has to be on board with the idea of Witten not only being back inside the organization at The Star, but also as a head coach.

Well, Jerry's comments back in 2019 seem to suggest that Witten, as a coach with the Cowboys, might just be a formality.

"Well, I think you can ... and, by the way, that's always been there, and it's always, his style has been there," Jones said on ESPN's NFL Live, making a movie-hero comparison. "He is John Wayne. And he is John Wayne in our dressing room.

"He's John Wayne in the one-on-one drills in the end zone in the dark, rough days of two-a-days. So he's the real deal. I like that for football. I'd like to think that's what's going to be here in the future, whether that's on the field or coaching."

Consider that one more endorsement of the idea of Witten to Dallas.

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