The Cowboys have a vacancy at defensive coordinator after firing Mike Nolan yesterday, and we’ve now got word on a potential candidate for the opening. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that Dallas will interview Falcons coach Joe Whitt Jr. on Sunday. Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News tweets that the interview will take place virtually.
[RELATED: Cowboys Fire Mike Nolan]
Whitt Jr. worked alongside Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy for years in Green Bay, serving as a defensive quality control coach, cornerbacks coach, and (eventually) the defensive passing game coordinator. After spending more than a decade with the organization, Whitt Jr. was let go by Green Bay following McCarthy’s firing, and he landed in Cleveland as their secondary coach and pass game coordinator. After helping the Browns finish top-10 in passing defense during the 2019 campaign, he landed the same gig in Atlanta for the 2020 season.
The Cowboys will be looking to right the ship following a disappointing 2020 campaign where the defense ranked 28th in scoring, 23rd in DVOA, and 31st against the run. As our own Sam Robinson noted, the 218 points the Cowboys allowed through their first six games tied for the third-worst mark in NFL history, and the 473 points Nolan’s defense ceded during the year doubled as the most in the franchise’s 61-year history.
Predictably, Nolan was let go by the organization yesterday after only one year at the helm, with the team also moving on from defensive line coach Jim Tomsula. McCarthy will surely be looking to improve his defense before Jerry Jones runs out of patience with him, as well.
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