2 Franchises Interested in a Rising Vikings Coach
Minnesota Vikings defensive pass-game coordinator Daronte Jones has emerged as a candidate for two defensive coordinator jobs. He has been requested for a pair of interviews.
Cowboys and Jets invited Daronte Jones for an interview.
The timing adds another layer of complexity for Minnesota. Jones has been mentioned by some reporters as a possible internal option if Flores were to depart from the Twin Cities. Either way, Jones has drawn the attention of Jerry Jones and his coaching staff, led by Brian Schottenheimer.
Cowboys reporter Todd Archer revealed on Thursday, “The Cowboys have requested permission to speak with Minnesota defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones, Denver assistant HC/pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard and Browns safeties coach Ephraim Banda for their defensive coordinator vacancy, according to multiple sources.”
A couple of Vikings reporters quickly added some more context.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert noted on social media, “Daronte Jones would be on a very short list to replace Brian Flores as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator, if Flores departs.”
And Alec Lewis of The Athletic posted, “Good report by Todd here, and I don’t believe this is going to be Daronte Jones’s only DC interview of the cycle.”
Shortly after the Cowboys report, it became public that the New York Jets are interested in Jones, too.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the second part of the news, “Jets have requested to interview Vikings passing game coordinator/DB coach Daronte Jones for their defensive coordinator position. Jones is also slated to interview with the Cowboys for their DC position as well.”
Jones isn’t new to the interview world. He interviewed for the DC job of the New York Giants in 2024, as well as for the same position of the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints in 2025. In both years, he returned for another season in purple.
He did land one defensive coordinator job in 2021, though. That was in college, when he led that side of the ball at LSU. After the season, as head coach Ed Orgeron was fired, he was not retained under incoming captain Brian Kelly.
Prior to that one-year chapter, Jones was the DB coach under Mike Zimmer for one season, and after his college exit, Jones returned in the same position under Kevin O’Connell. The fact that two regimes found a spot for him on the staff shows how much the franchise has valued him. That continued to show when Flores joined the club in 2023 and also retained him, moving him from DB coach to defensive pass-game coordinator.
Dallas featured a subpar defense that significantly held the team back. The result was a missed playoffs despite having an explosive offense led by Dak Prescott with a couple of outstanding receivers and a decent running game.
DC Matt Eberflus was fired after only one season. Flores is the dream target for some part of Dallas’ media, but he’ll first chase his head coaching dream. Jones is among the candidates drawing consideration.
In New York, not much worked in the 2025 season, the first under new HC and former Lions DC Aaron Glenn. His coordinator Steve Wilks was fired during the season.
For now, Minnesota’s next steps remain tied to decisions that have yet to be made. Jones is one name to keep in mind for the future of the Vikings’ defensive coordinator position.