Cowboys request permission to interview three assistants for vacant defensive coordinator role

The Dallas Cowboys have requested permission to speak with Vikings defensive pass game coordinator/DBs coach Daronte Jones, Broncos assistant head coach/defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard, and Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda as Dallas opens its search for a new defensive coordinator, Sources confirmed to DLLS.

The requests are the early, formal steps in the process (teams must grant permission for coaches under contract), and it signals Dallas is already casting a wide net across three different organizations, with all three candidates coming from defenses that have put a premium on coverage structure and communication on the back end.

“A teacher,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said during the end of season presser, on what he wants from his next coordinator. “Someone that’s a great teacher, a great communicator. I’m full of energy, and love what I do. I think someone that is passionate about football.”

Jones has been in Minnesota since 2022, as the defensive backs coach, and in 2023, became the defensive pass game coordinator, giving him direct involvement in weekly coverage plans and matchup-specific adjustments.

Leonhard is the name that will instantly jump off the page for a lot of fans.

Denver’s assistant head coach/defensive pass game coordinator has been respected as a teacher and organizer, and has a coordinator background as the former Wisconsin defensive coordinator.

“I saw Jim before we played Denver. Jim’s a heck of a football coach. You talk about a great football player, man. We had some great years together in New York. Again, I would not say we’ve stayed in touch,” Schottenheimer said. This business is hard. You get going a million miles [an hour]. You gotta speak to what Sean [Payton] and what that entire staff has done there. Vance Joseph is a guy I have a ton of respect for. Jim’s an excellent coach.”

Banda, Cleveland’s safeties coach, brings recent coordinator experience from the college level and has spent the last few seasons working inside an NFL secondary room, a notable detail for a Cowboys defense that, at times in 2025, looked like it needed cleaner communication as much as it needed talent.

Dallas is expected to continue sending out requests as the process ramps up.