Jason Garrett is officially the coach of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, but that hasn’t stopped constant speculation for who might replace him. Even Cowboys owner Jerry Jones addresses the widespread speculation.

With Urban Meyer out of coaching, the three-time national champion has been linked to the job. Meyer himself fanned the flames by telling Colin Cowherd he would absolutely be interested in the gig. With Jones having once hired a former Oklahoma coach, Sooners coach Lincoln Riley also gets linked to Dallas. Recently, Florida’s Dan Mullen was mentioned as a possible Garrett replacement when college football insider Bruce Feldman told Dan Patrick that NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah thinks Mullen could be the next Cowboys head coach. Per Feldman, Jeremiah’s thinking is that Dallas might see Mullen as the coach best fit to coach Dak Prescott, his former QB at Mississippi State.

One problem with the Meyer-Riley-Mullen rumors: Jones attaches a lost season with hiring a coach out of college. Jones appeared on 105.3 The Fan on Friday. The hosts asked Jones if enjoyed seeing Riley’s Sooners get a win in AT&T Stadium in the Big 12 Championship Game. Jones went on to discuss college coaches in the NFL with the hosts.

“I’m impressed with him (Riley). But, boy, I’m impressed with Baylor’s coach, too,” Jones said. “Those were two outstanding coaches at the stadium this weekend. … They’ve done great jobs. … That was a great chance to see a couple great coaches out there.

“College coaches, a head coach coming directly into (to the NFL) head coach, have the lowest percentage rate of success (in the NFL),” Jones said when asked about the league is more accepting of college coaches making the jump. “It’s pretty obvious they have to get acquainted with personnel. College coaches spend Sunday working. It’s one of their biggest workday weeks. In many cases, they aren’t familiar with the personnel, and that’s a big deal.

“So, you pay a price for someone to get up to date that haven’t spent the prior months or years in the NFL. And just the nature of the game, college coaches don’t spend a lot of time watching this game. I’m reminded we won one football game the first year we came and brought Jimmy (Johnson) in.”

Johnson, of course, won two Super Bowls (1992, 93) after getting off to a slow start. Jones would later replace Johnson with another college coach, Barry Switzer, who led the Cowboys to another Super Bowl win in 1995. We’ll see if Jones makes a coaching change and if he has the patience for a college coach.