The Panthers were interested in Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore for their head coaching job. Now that Moore is bound for Los Angeles instead, the Cowboys may be looking at a Carolina staffer to fill Moore’s old spot.
Dallas will interview Panthers assistant head coach and running backs coach Jeff Nixon for their OC vacancy, as reported Tuesday morning by Joe Person of The Athletic.
Nixon’s name may be familiar to some Cowboys fans after his time spent at Baylor. The Bears’ co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach under head coach Matt Rhule, Nixon produced top-20 offenses in two of his three years in Waco.
Rhule brought Nixon with him to Charlotte in 2020 when he took the team’s head coaching position.
After the Panthers fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady during the 2021 season, it was Nixon who took over play-calling duties for the team’s final five games. With the added title of assistant head coach, Nixon returned to coaching running backs this past year; he survived losing superstar Christian McCaffrey in a midseason trade yet still guided the Panthers backfield to a top-10 finish in rushing yards.
Panthers RB coach Jeff Nixon has an interview set w/ Cowboys for their offensive coordinator job, per league source.
Nixon, who called plays in ‘21 after Joe Brady was fired, did a nice job w/ D’Onta Foreman & Chuba Hubbard this season after Christian McCaffrey was traded.— Joe Person (@josephperson) January 31, 2023
Nixon has plenty of NFL experience, having also served on the offensive staffs of Philadelphia, Miami, and San Francisco from 2007 to 2016.
He is reportedly set to meet with Dallas on Wednesday.
While it is believed that Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy will call offensive plays in Dallas next season, the team still needs to fill its OC role and may elect to do so with someone who can grow into a full-time play-calling capacity while also fulfilling other roles.
Nixon’s experience as both a running backs coach and assistant head coach might help him check several boxes the Cowboys currently have open; the team parted ways with RB coach Skip Peete and assistant HC Rob Davis last week.
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