Ravens request to interview Cowboys assistant Joe Whitt Jr. for coordinator job

Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore aren’t the only Dallas staffers who are finding themselves in demand now that the Cowboys’ season is over.

Joe Whitt Jr., the team’s defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach, has reportedly drawn the attention of the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens have requested permission to speak with Whitt about becoming their new defensive coordinator, according to NFL Network’s Steve Wyche.

Last week, the Seattle Seahawks also asked to speak with Whitt about their coordinator position.

The Ravens parted ways with longtime DC Don “Wink” Martindale late last week after 10 seasons in Baltimore, a tenure that included a win in Super Bowl XLVII.

The Ravens have put in an interview request with Cowboys secondary coach Joe Whitt for their vacant defensive coordinator position, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Seattle also requested to interview Whitt for the open DC job.

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— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) January 23, 2022

Whitt joined the Cowboys’ staff in January; he had worked with both head coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Quinn previously.

With Quinn now a highly-sought-after head coach candidate interviewing with several other clubs, Whitt could be a strong contender in the conversation to take over as Dallas DC if Quinn departs.

He’s on record as saying there are two coaching jobs that he considers his dream gigs: head coach of the University of South Florida, or defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys.

The latter is a role he’s been in the mix for before.

“I’ve had coordinator interviews. I interviewed here,” he told Dallas media back in October. “I’m ready to call the plays, and I think a lot of people know that. But my dad always told me this: you do the best job with the job that you have, and your next opportunity will come. So I’m not worried about it. When that time comes, I’m ready.”

Whitt helped turn around the Cowboys secondary, into a unit that led the league in interceptions in 2021. Now he has interview requests from Seattle and Baltimore to helm the entire defense.

But he admits that Dallas has always held a special place in his heart.

“When I looked to the NFL teams and you see that star,” Whitt said, “it was just something I wanted to do. And even when I talked to my wife about it, it’s like, ‘If I ever become coordinator of the Cowboys, I can see doing that for a very long time.’”

While he spent 11 previous seasons under McCarthy in Green Bay and one year under Quinn in Atlanta, Whitt credits this past season with the Cowboys as instrumental in prepping him- and other staffers, like defensive line coach Aden Durde and senior defensive assistant George Edwards- for an eventual DC role.

“Dan has empowered me in a role this year of not only being the secondary coach, but he’s given me roles that have definitely put me in position of saying not just I can do that, I’m ready for it,” Whitt explained. “He’s given me those roles, he’s given me those responsibilities. I just take my hat off to him; it takes such confidence. He could come in here easily and say, ‘We’re going to do this this way,’ and he doesn’t do it. ‘Hey Joe, how do you want to do this? AD, how do you want to do this? George, how do you want to do this?’ Then he goes and we come together as a staff and make a decision and we move forward. He’s growing all of us to make sure we’re in position to make sure we one day can run the defense.”

That opportunity could indeed come for Whitt in Dallas. But Seattle and Baltimore may have something to say about it in the meantime.

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