MOBILE, Ala. – If coaching one of the rosters here at the Senior Bowl won't take up enough time, the Cowboys are also making some time to interview coaches for at least one vacancy on the staff.
Jason Garrett confirmed after Tuesday's practice that former Univ. of Miami head coach Al Golden will interview with the Cowboys on Wednesday in Mobile. Garrett wouldn't specify which position Golden is seeking, but the head coach did mention the defensive backs vacancy that was created when Jerome Henderson left for the Falcons.
Currently, secondary coach is the only full-time position that needs to be filled. Golden, who played tight end at Penn State and for a season with the Patriots, also played some linebacker earlier in his playing career. As a coach, Golden has been a defensive-minded coach with stops at Boston College, Virginia and Temple before becoming the head coach of the Hurricanes from 2011-15. He was fired near the end of this past regular season, finishing with a 32-25 record at Miami.
"He's somebody that we'll talk to, yes. I don't know if he's going to join it," Cowboys VP Stephen Jones said of Golden. "But we're going to be interviewing, there will be several names start to pop up in terms of possible additions to our staff after we lost Jerome. He's one of them and there'll be more."
While Garrett was noncommittal on Golden's potential role, there is some uncertainty regarding the tight end position. Mike Pope is under contract but is not with the staff in Mobile, with Garrett saying he was dealing with a personal matter.
"We do anticipate Mike being back this year," Garrett said after practice. Earlier in the day, the head coach was adamant to reporters, saying "Mike Pope is our tight ends coach."
Until Pope returns, the Cowboys are going through the week with Steve Loney assisting the tight ends. Loney spent last year as an offensive line assistant to Frank Pollack, who is getting some help from Marc Colombo this week.
In the secondary, safeties coach Joe Baker is handling the DB drills with some assistance from Ben Bloom, who has spent the last two years with the defensive line.
The Cowboys had six coaches with expiring contracts, including Henderson, who was named defensive passing game coordinator by the Falcons this week.
