Report: Jason Witten not currently part of Dallas Cowboys plan to build staff

A new era is upon the Dallas Cowboys, but evidently, Jason Witten won’t be a part of it. On Friday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Cowboys are promoting offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to fill their opening at head coach. While insiders speculated who will be joining Schottenheimer’s staff, NFL Network’s Jane Slater named one person who won’t be.

“A source informed tells me the #Cowboys have not completed the process of hiring their defensive coordinator,” Slater wrote. “Matt Eberflus is certainly someone held in high regard and certainly part of the consideration however.

“Not part of their considerations, according to two sources, Jason Witten on staff. While Jerry Jones has maintained a relationship with him and they have talked in recent months it appears my sense of him being part of the plan are unsubstantiated at this point and haven’t been discussed in fact.”

Witten spent 16 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys during his NFL career. He is the franchise’s career receiving leader, boasting 1,215 receptions for 12,977 yards and 72 touchdowns during his time with the organization.

During his career, Witten was a two-time First-Team All-Pro, 11-time Pro Bowl selection and the 2012 Walter Payton Man of the Year. Additionally, Witten was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

Since retiring in 2020, Witten has been the head coach Texas’ Liberty Christian School, leading the program to back-to-back state championships. Despite Witten’s success with the program, Jones reportedly isn’t interested in seeing Witten joining the Cowboys’ staff.

The news is a stark contrast from reports that emerged just over a week ago. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Jan. 14, Adam Schefter reported that Campbell was a legitimate candidate to be the Cowboys’ next head coach.

“The guy he is, because of the mind he has, because of the player he was, because of all those things, which is exactly all the traits that would make him, again, a possibility here,” Schefter said.

“I think everybody has seen what Dan Campbell has done in Detroit, and the culture he’s brought there, and the impact he’s had on the roster in the city, I think people are looking for that type of thing. I’m just telling you a couple people said that’s the kind of impact they think Jason Witten could have.”