FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys' search for their next defensive coordinator is underway.
On Friday, Dallas will interview Vikings defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones and Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda. Saturday, they'll speak with Broncos defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard.
Earlier in the week, Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones and head coach Brian Schottenheimer said the team would cast a wide net for their candidates, and that having NFL experience as either a defensive coordinator or head coach was not necessarily a requirement. These are only the first three names being interviewed, and the Cowboys are expected to host more interviews in the near future.
For now, let's take a look at each of the first three interviewees:
Daronte Jones
Jones' coaching background is full of work in the secondary. He began his career rising through the ranks of Louisiana high schools as a defensive coordinator before jumping to the collegiate ranks at Bowie State in 2005 as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.
From there, Jones coached cornerbacks at UCLA in 2010, had one year with Canada's Montreal Alouettes in 2011, was the secondary coach at Hawaii from 2012-14, and defensive backs coach at Wisconsin in 2015.
In 2016, he made the jump to the NFL as the Dolphins' assistant defensive backs coach for two seasons, then was the Bengals CBs coach in 2018-19 before joining the Vikings as defensive backs coach in 2020. After spending 2021 as the defensive coordinator at LSU. He rejoined the Vikings as defensive backs coach in 2022 and then became the defensive pass game coordinator in 2023.
When the Cowboys played the Vikings earlier this season, Schottenheimer was effusive in his praise for Minnesota's defense, a unit that finished second in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game with 158.5, and Jones had a big role in that success.
Ephraim Banda
Banda, a San Antonio native who was a walk on turned special teams captain of the University of the Incarnate Word's first football team, played safety and has coached safeties his entire coaching career.
He got his start as a student assistant at UIW and then was a graduate assistant at Texas from 2012-14. After a year as a defensive quality control coach at Mississippi State in 2015, Banda became the safeties coach at Miami (FL) in 2016.
In 2019, Miami promoted Banda to co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, a position he held for two seasons before being hired as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Utah State.
In 2023, Banda joined the Browns' staff as the safeties coach and has been in the position ever since. Cleveland's defense has finished in the top 12 of passing defense in each of three seasons Banda has been on staff, including being first in 2023 and third in 2025.
Jim Leonhard
Another former defensive back that has coached the position throughout his career, Leonhard played 10 seasons in the NFL, including three with the Jets while Schottenheimer was New York's offensive coordinator. Earlier in the week, the Cowboys' head coach was asked about his relationship with Leonhard.
"Jim's a heck of football coach," Schottenheimer said. "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. This business is hard. You get going a million miles. 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."
When his playing career was over, Leonhard joined the coaching staff at his alma mater, Wisconsin, as the defensive backs coach in 2016. He was promoted one year later to defensive coordinator, still coaching defensive backs, until 2022 when he also became the interim head coach after Paul Chryst was fired.
After a year at Illinois as a senior football analyst, Leonhard joined the Broncos in 2024 as the defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator. This season, he became the assistant head coach and defensive pass game coordinator. With his help, the Broncos have been among the best secondaries in the NFL, seventh against the pass and second overall in 2025 as a unit. He also helped All-Pro CB Patrick Surtain win the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award last season.
As the Cowboys continue to interview more candidates for the defensive coordinator position, keep up with our defensive coordinator candidate tracker for the latest.
