On Friday afternoon, news broke that the Dallas Cowboys were moving on from defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. The news did not come to much of a surprise to many, as the veteran coach's unit struggled for much of the 2020 season.

At the beginning of the NFL season, the Cowboys defense was historically bad, struggling to provide any kind of resistance towards their opponents' passing or rushing attack. Seemingly every team that the Cowboys lined up against found success throwing the football, while also having their way on the ground.

Nolan is certainly not the only one that deserves blame. While his coaching and scheme left a lot to be desired, the players were not making any plays, either. DeMarcus Lawrence was among the only Cowboys defenders to show any sign of life, as the linebacker corps continued to decline and the secondary was severely lacking talent — especially when both Chidobe Awuzie and Anthony Brown were placed on injured reserve.

To the team's credit, the Cowboys defense did show some improvement down the stretch of the season — ultimately finishing 23rd in total defense by season's end. Though, some of that can be explained by the team playing the likes of Brandon Allen, Nick Mullens, rookie Jalen Hurts, and the up-and-down Daniel Jones at quarterback over the final four games.

Despite the end to the season, it was not very hard to tell that the Cowboys needed a change at defensive coordinator.

Cowboys are set to interview former Packers, Falcons assistant.

It did not take long to find out who the Dallas Cowboys will be interviewing to replace Mike Nolan as defensive coordinator. Former Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons defensive assistant Joe Whitt Jr. is set to interview for the position this weekend, according to multiple media reports.

The Cowboys have an interview scheduled for Sunday with Joe Whitt Jr. for their defensive coordinator position, according to @TomPelissero.

Whitt worked with Mike McCarthy in Green Bay from 2008 to 2018. He was the Falcons’ secondary coach and pass game coordinator in 2020

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) January 9, 2021

McCarthy and Whitt worked together with the Green Bay Packers from 2009 to 2018, where Whitt held the defensive passing game coordinator title during the two's final season in Wisconsin.

Following his time in Green Bay, Whitt moved on to coach for the Cleveland Browns in 2019 and then the Atlanta Falcons in 2020. At both stops, Whitt was the secondary coach and the pass game coordinator. The Browns finished the 2019 season seventh in pass defense, while the Falcons finished dead last in the same metric following the 2020 regular season.

Whitt's connection and established relationship with McCarthy more than likely played the biggest role in the opportunity to interview for the vacant position with the Cowboys; however, it remains to be seen whether this is a courtesy interview or if Whitt does have a legitimate shot of becoming the next defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys.

Cleveland's pass defense in 2019 gives Whitt some credibility, but the Falcons being the absolute worst in defending the pass this season has to give some pause.

Other candidates the Cowboys could consider…

There have been more than few names mentioned in regards to the Dallas Cowboys and the defensive coordinator position. As always, the majority of the said names are probably unlikely options, but nonetheless, there have been several names that have been brought up.

The Athletic's Jon Machota recently wrote on six possible candidates to replace Mike Nolan, and three caught my eye:

• Dan Quinn, former Atlanta Falcons head coach
• Joe Barry, Los Angeles Rams’ assistant head coach and linebackers coach
• Gus Bradley, Los Angeles Chargers' defensive coordinator

We also wrote on a handful of different options that the Cowboys could consider to fill their vacant position. As expected, everybody has their own opinion on who should be running the Dallas Cowboys defense in 2021.

Retaining Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator and play caller was a huge win for Mike McCarthy as he prepares for his second season as the head coach of the Cowboys. This defensive coordinator hire is extremely important for McCarthy to get right, and it will go a long way in determining how successful the McCarthy era is in Dallas.

Featured image via Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports