ARLINGTON, Texas — Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones was on hand at AT&T Stadium on Sunday afternoon for the announcement that the home of the Cowboys would play host to nine World Cup matches in 2026 including one of the semi-finals.
Even though the group led by Jones and fellow Dallas officials not being awarded the World Cup Final was "disappointing," the spectacle of having more matches than any host city for the tournament had everyone in attendance at AT&T Stadium on Sunday excited about what's to come two summers from now.
Once World Cup business was attended to, Jones spoke briefly about the Cowboys' impending search for a new defensive coordinator after Dan Quinn departed Dallas to take the head coaching job for the Washington Commanders. Jones said that the process will start this week in finding Quinn's successor with interviews slated to begin on Monday.
"We're interviewing," Jones said. "We're basically planning meetings. I won't get into who we're interviewing, but we have interviews beginning at nine in the morning [Monday]."
While Jones said that he doesn't yet "have a timeline" for when a new coordinator could be announced, he did say that he doesn't anticipate head coach Mike McCarthy heading into the final year of his contract as a potential obstacle towards finding a quality coordinator.
"I don't anticipate that being an issue at all," he said. "If they take the job, they will be coordinator of the Cowboys. They would be looking at that right there and all that goes with that. If they're aspiring, they know there's a chance to be a head coach someplace, because the one that just left is."
Jones said earlier in the week in Mobile, Ala. that Quinn had been "an outstanding coach" for the Cowboys, and now with the news official that he will be moving to Washington, he offered more praise for his deserving promotion.
"I felt ultimately two years ago that Dan wanted a head coaching job, so it doesn't surprise me that he's landed a head coaching job," Jones said. "I couldn't look at a crystal ball and see what direction that might go back then, but it doesn't surprise me – the fact that he's got head coaching credentials [and] been to a Super Bowl."
Quinn is not the only former coordinator that the Cowboys will run into twice a season next year after the Philadelphia Eagles hired Kellen Moore to be their new offensive coordinator. On the topic, Jones said it's impossible to avoid former coaches and that business will operate as usual.
"Well, they know us pretty well don't they," Jones said with a small laugh. "We've always known that there's nobody living that you don't have to play without. The Cowboys go on."
