Tashard Choice will not be the next Dallas Cowboys running backs coach, with the club opting to hire Derrick Foster for the role instead.
Foster was on the job market after the coaching change in New Orleans, and previously did good work helping develop Austin Ekeler as the Chargers running backs coach from 2021-23.
However, Foster's status as a free agent tracks with Justin Wells of Inside Texas reporting Choice would have had to take a "significant" pay cut to return to Dallas, where he played running back from 2008-11.
If that's the case, Steve Sarkisian is going to make it even more difficult for Choice to return to the NFL.
Choice made $700,000 in 2024 according to the USA Today salary database, which put him near the top 10 nationally and left significant room for growth in relation to the tippy-top of the running back coaching market.
On Monday, Dallas Cowboys beat writer reported Choice is in line for a raise that will take his salary to "in excess of" $800,000.
Per the USA Today database, the next-closest assistant to Choice on the Longhorns' pecking order was passing game coordinator/secondary coach Terry Joseph, who made $825,000 in 2024, so Sarkisian wouldn't necessarily have to give anyone else a raise to match Choice's incoming raise.
But after a season in which Texas played for an SEC championship and returned to the College Football Playoff semifinals, Choice may prove to be the first of many Texas assistants to cash in on a 13-win season in Austin.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.