FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys officially started the process of interviewing candidates for the position of vacant defensive coordinator.
On Sunday, the team reportedly met with Joe Whitt Jr. and Jason Simmons met with Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and others.
On Friday, the Cowboys parted ways with defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and defensive line coach Jim Tomsula.
Whitt Jr. was the pass game coordinator and secondary coach in Atlanta last season, while Simmons had the same position at the Panthers.
Whitt Jr. spent more than 10 seasons at Green Bay on McCarthy’s team.
But Falcons was 29th in total defense last season and ranked last in the NFL in defense of passes.
Like Whitt Jr., Simmons also spent nine years at Green Bay with McCarthy. Last year, in Carolina, the Panthers ranked 18th in total defense and 18th against the pass.
But the Cowboys don’t seem to have finished the process.
Although they interviewed two coaches from teams that did not make it to the playoffs, there are now six other teams that lost games this weekend in the playoffs and four more after the next weekend.
Another name to consider is George Edwards, who spent the past year on the Cowboys team as a senior defensive assistant.
Edwards has a lot of experience as a defensive coordinator, most recently in Minnesota, where he oversaw the defense of Mike Zimmer’s team for six years.
Edwards also served as DC in Buffalo, Washington and was also the coach of the 1998-2001 Cowboys linebackers.
He is expected to meet with McCarthy about the position sometime this week.