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Colin Cowherd explains why Jim Harbaugh, Urban Meyer could be candidates for Cowboys job

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

With the NFL regular season winding down, the rumor mill is beginning to pick up steam. It’s always this time of year when we start to see serious coaching changes at the highest level of football.

One of the jobs that has been discussed as potentially coming available at the end of the year is the Dallas Cowboys. Despite Jason Garrett’s long run with the franchise, many are expecting owner Jerry Jones to make a change on the sidelines.

But who would take his place?

Earlier this week, Colin Cowherd ranked candidates for the job in Dallas. Among the nine names mentioned, the FOX radio host included Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer.

Cowherd ranked the potential hires with a “star rating,” with the highest being five and the lowest being one. On that scale, he considers Harbaugh to be a 3 1/2-star candidate for the job.

“Control is important for Harbaugh. He struggled his first time in the NFL not having total personnel control,” Cowherd said. “He was 44-19-1 as a head coach, he got to three NFC Championships and a Super Bowl, but I do think there’s a personality clash.”

Harbaugh’s name is frequently included when NFL vacancies become available, but he’s never shown much interest in a return to the professional ranks. Even earlier this year, the Michigan head coach sent out a letter to the families of players and recruits denouncing the rumors that he was planning an “exit strategy” from Ann Arbor at the end of the 2019 season.

Meyer, who is currently available, received a higher mark from Cowherd.

“Organizationally, he’s the best candidate of the nine. I would give him four stars. The knock on him is that he’s never been an NFL coach, nor shown a great deal of interest,” Meyer said. “He’s only 55. I do think for the first three years, because of his college football connection and acumen, Dallas would have great drafting success the first three years with Urban. His influence would be substantial.”

In an interview with Cowherd earlier this year, Meyer said he would be interested in hearing a pitch from the Cowboys, calling it one of the premier jobs in sports. He didn’t say that he would make the return to coaching, but that he would consider the opportunity.

Right now, Garrett is still the guy in Dallas. And despite a 7-7 record, the Cowboys are still atop the NFC East standings, and are a perfect 4-0 against division opponents. That could be enough to save his job.

If not, things could get very interesting on the coaching search for Jones and the Cowboys.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB