Report: Dallas Cowboys plan to interview Oregon assistant HC Ra'Shaad Samples for coaching vacancy

The Dallas Cowboys are expected to interview Oregon assistant head coach Ra’Shaad Samples for their vacant running backs coach position, per Matt Zenitz. He also serves the same position for the Ducks.

Samples, a native of Dallas, was previously a finalist to become the head coach at Sam Houston State in December, but ultimately decided to stay in Eugene. Now, he could once again be on his way out of Oregon and into the NFL if the Cowboys choose to hire him.

The 30-year-old joined Dan Lanning’s coaching staff in Eugene in April last year, replacing Carlos Locklyn who left Oregon to become the running backs coach at Ohio State. He previously served as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator on Kenny Dillingham’s staff at Arizona State.

This past season, Samples helped lead Oregon running backs Jordan James and Noah Whittington to a combined 1,822 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns during the 2024 season.

He is also an integral part of the Ducks’ recruiting efforts, as he helped sign a pair of running backs to the 2025 Oregon recruiting class, as well as having a hand in the commitment of Five Star Plus+ WR Dakorien Moore.

“Coach Samples is one of the brightest young coaches in all of football, and it is easy to see why he has had such a rapid rise through the coaching ranks,” Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said of Samples when he was hired last April. “He is a dynamic personality who will bring out the very best in our student-athletes both on and off the field, and he will recruit relentlessly to bring the best young men we can find to our program. I am excited to see the impact Ra’Shaad has on our players’ development as we continue to build upon the storied history of running backs here at Oregon.”

If Samples were to move on from Oregon, this wouldn’t be his first stop in the NFL. In 2022, he became the running backs coach for the Los Angeles Rams the offseason after they won the Super Bowl.

Throughout his career, Samples has had stints with Houston (his alma mater) and Texas, as well as SMU where he moved up the ranks in short order before the one-year stint in LA before Kenny Dillingham hired him to his inagural staff in 2023. He’s spent one full season with Oregon as of this report.