Mailbag: Is Jason Witten the next Dan Campbell?

(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)

While it's a lazy comparison, the more I think about the decision the Lions made to hire Dan Campbell, I can't help but wonder if Jason Witten might be the perfect candidate to lead this team back to glory. I know Campbell had NFL coaching experience, but the Lions stunned everyone when they hired him. If Witten surrounds himself with an experienced staff, do you feel he'd be the right guy for the job? Or does he need to earn that role by being an NFL assistant for a few years? – Danny Whitehouse/Kingsland, TX

Patrik: I want it to be made clear that Jason Witten is one of my all-time favorite NFL (not just Cowboys') players in the history of the sport, and one of my favorite human beings as well. But neither of those two things qualify him, or anyone, to be a successful head coach at this level and especially for a team as pressure-packed as the Cowboys.

His coaching resume is not only short, but includes zero experience above the high school level — adding to my point regarding the rampant inexperience and, hear me out, because far more often than there is a Dan Campbell, there's a Jeff Saturday.

That said, I also believe he will one day make an exceptional head coach in the NFL, but that day is not today. I could not be more all-in (sorry for that phrasing because, I know, trauma response coming on your end) on making Witten a tight ends coach in Dallas in 2025, so sure, get that done, as long as it doesn't mean Lunda Wells has to leave the organization because that is something I'm very, very all-out on.

Nick: The irony here is amazing. When Jason Witten was playing for the Cowboys, the only player who started at tight end over him was Dan Campbell. And that was only for a short time back in 2003. To think that more than 20 years later we're talking about the two of them in the coaching ranks is crazy to me. But maybe it shouldn't be. I'm sure Campbell taught Witten a few things on how to be a pro and they are built the same way.

So I say all of that when I answer this question ... I think Witten can be like Campbell for sure. The one thing we've seen in Detroit is that Campbell has built a winning culture. He's got some tough players and they play hard and fast. They also have great assistant coaches who have now both left to take other jobs.

We will see real quick if Campbell can sustain that in Detroit and reload his staff. But as for Witten, I don't think he's ready to be a head coach just yet, just like Campbell wasn't ready either. But it didn't take long for him to move up the ranks and I bet Witten does the same. Maybe he'll be a tight ends coach in the NFL sooner than later and will become a head coach in no time. I see that path for Witten, but like Campbell, he'll need to surround himself with great assistants, at leasts early on.