Cowboys fans already know that coordinators Kellen Moore and Dan Quinn will garner significant interest this coming offseason from other teams looking to make a change at head coach. But another Dallas staffer has now reportedly emerged as a candidate within the college ranks.
Senior defensive assistant George Edwards, who has served the Cowboys in that role since January 2020, is being eyed by Duke University for its vacant head coaching position, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, citing sources Monday.
Edwards, 54, attended Duke and lettered in football all four years there. He was a two-time team captain at the linebacker position.
#Cowboys senior defensive assistant George Edwards has emerged as a candidate for the head coaching job at his alma mater Duke University, sources say. Edwards was a four-year letterman for the Blue Devils, who parted ways with David Cutcliffe last month.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 6, 2021
The school parted ways with head coach David Cutcliffe in November after the Blue Devils’ third straight losing season. Cutcliffe had been with the school since 2008 and turned the program around, from a perennial doormat in the ACC to a final ranking in the AP Top 25 in 2013 and six bowl appearances in seven seasons ending in 2018.
Edwards himself was an assistant at his alma mater in 1996, after stints at Florida and Appalachian State. After a subsequent season on Georgia’s staff, Edwards came to Dallas, where he was the Cowboys’ linebackers coach for four seasons, helping to develop Dexter Coakley into a Pro Bowler at the position.
Starting in 2001, Edwards bounced around several NFL organizations: Washington, Cleveland, Miami, Buffalo, Miami (again), and finally Minnesota, where he was the Vikings’ defensive coordinator for six years before finally returning to the Cowboys.
Rumors of this guy or that guy being considered for this job or that job are often nothing more, but Pelissero’s report seems to have some weight; Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones didn’t try to tapdance around it when asked Monday morning on Dallas radio.
Cowboys senior defensive assistant George Edwards, a Duke graduate who has been instrumental in Micah Parsons’ NFL acclimation, is a candidate for Duke HC job. EVP Stephen Jones on @1053thefan: “Jerry and I, very aware of that. …He certainly deserves the consideration.”
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) December 6, 2021
“We always root for our guys to have great opportunities,” Jones added, speaking with 105.3 The Fan.
Now, after 24 seasons of coaching NFL defenses, Edwards may get a great opportunity in the familiar setting of Durham, North Carolina.
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