It appeared as if defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore were on their way out of Dallas as they perused head coaching jobs. Both were retained but a former NFL player, Joe Bowden, could be on his way to fill a coaching vacancy in Dallas.

Matt Daniels spent the previous two seasons as the Cowboys' assistant special teams coach. He starts a new journey in 2022 as he will take over as the special teams coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings. To fill the hole that Daniels left, the Cowboys are expected to hire Bowden for his old position.

A deal to bring Bowden back to the state of Texas hasn't been finalized. However, negotiations are in the advanced stages and Bowden could be hired very soon.

Bowden, a Dallas native, is no stranger to the Cowboys. After eight seasons with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans (1992-1999), the fifth-round pick out of Oklahoma spent his final season in the NFL with the Cowboys in 2000. He was active in all 16 games as a rotational linebacker and backed up Dexter Coakley and Dareen Hambrick. Bowden logged 23 tackles.

His coaching career began six years later in the college ranks, where he served as the secondary coach for Central Oklahoma for three seasons (2006-2008). After spending time at Mount St. Mary and Edmond Santa Fe, two Oklahoma City high schools, Bowden dipped his toes in the NFL nearly a half-decade later.

Bowden was hired as the assistant linebackers coach by the then-St. Louis Rams where he spent four seasons (2012-2015). In 2016, he made his way to the west coast and was brought on as the inside linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers. Bowden's stint only lasted one season.

A trip back to college football awaited Bowden in 2017. He was named defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Missouri Baptist University where he spent four seasons before serving as the linebackers coach at Tennessee State last season.

If Bowden is hired, he will work alongside John "Bones" Fassel who has served as the Cowboys special teams coach for the last two seasons. In addition to his special teams duties, Bowden will almost certainly assist with the linebackers, having played and coached position.

Therefore, he'll work with linebackers coach Scott McCurley and senior defensive assistant George Edwards. Both McCurley and Edwards were part of the revamped coaching staff that followed the 2019 season.

With a player like linebacker Micah Parsons who led a Cowboys' 2021 draft class that received an A+ grade, Bowden has quite the foundation to build on.

Featured image via-George Walker IV / The Tennessean via Imagn Content Services, LLC