ARLINGTON, Texas – After rumors swirled for weeks that former Cowboys tight end Jason Witten would be on the Cowboys' new coaching staff in some capacity, he clarified that no conversations took place between and Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones.
"I did not talk to Jerry about it," Witten said at the award ceremony for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award. "I think they went through a thorough process for them and got to a place where they felt like Brian was the guy."
Eventually, coaching at the professional level is something that Witten wants to do, and doing it for the Cowboys would be something he's interested in.
"Of course that's a long term goal of mine one day to get back there when the right opportunity comes…" Witten said. "When the right time and the right opportunity comes, I'm excited to embark on that next chapter."
For now, Witten is remaining as the head coach at Liberty Christian in Argyle, Texas where he's led the team to back-to-back state championships in 2023 and 2024. He's also coached both of his sons, C.J. and Cooper, since 2021. C.J. will play college football at Rice University next season as a linebacker, while Cooper is a rising junior who is already ranked as a four-star safety prospect with offers from 18 schools including his father's alma mater, Tennessee.
"For me to be able to coach my sons and take over a program and win back to back state championships at that level, it's been really, really special and memories that I'll keep with me for the rest of my life." Witten said.
When people have called Witten to inquire about coaching jobs in the past, he's listened and will continue to do so going forward with no timetable as to when that jump could come.
With a lot invested in the Dallas area with his family, and he's had conversations with his wife, Michelle, about the potential of that happening when and if he decides to join a staff that could be outside of Dallas, and wants to be ready in all aspects of his life to do so.
"I think when you sign up for that, you know what you're signing up for, and you know that it's part of the gig…" Witten said. "For me, it's continuing to learn and grow and certainly if you join somebody's staff, you want it to be an opportunity that you can be equipped and be a sponge."
Back in November, Jones spoke very highly of the prospect of Witten being a head coach in the NFL someday, and even compared him to former Cowboys tight end and current Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
"Without hesitation, yes. He has something that you can't draw up. He reminds me a lot of our other tight end [Dan Campbell] who is head coach up there in Detroit right now..." Jones said on 105.3 The Fan.
"Jason is very sophisticated when it comes to understanding football and all the nuances. But more important than anything, he really does understand the physical and the mentality of being physical and that part of it. Without a question, he could become [an NFL coach]. He has extraordinary work ethic... He can be a top coach."
