Greg Ellis describes what it means to return to Cowboys as coach

A first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 1998, Greg Ellis is living his dream by coaching with the franchise he started his career with.

Randy Gurzi | Aug 8, 2024

Dallas Cowboys linebacker (98) Greg Ellis and wide receiver (81) Terrell Owens against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Arizona defeated Dallas 30-24 in overtime. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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Greg Ellis will always be known as the player the Dallas Cowboys selected over Randy Moss.

Dallas elected to pass on the polarizing wideout, who wound up going 21st overall. While they were far from the only team to skip out on him, they arguably had the greatest need at receiver.

This put a lot of pressure on Ellis, who they believed was the safer pick. Moss turned out to be a generational talent but Ellis was no bust. He spent 11 years in Dallas, racking up 77 sacks during his tenure. Now, he's back with the Cowboys and couldn't be happier.

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Ellis was hired by Mike Zimmer as an assistant defensive line coach and called his return "A dream come true."

It's MORE THAN FOOTBALL with #Cowboys DE coach and former player Greg Ellis 🔥🔥🔥 @KristiCowboy revealed on GTBT that 2nd rd pick Marshawn Kneeland called Ellis on his OFF DAY to watch film and prepare for the Rams joint practice 👀 pic.twitter.com/huoT8M50ao
— Mickey (@CravinCowboys) August 8, 2024

Ellis is ninth in team history in sacks and had his best season late in his career while learning a new position. Moved to an outside linebacker in Bill Parcell's 3-4 defense, Ellis had 12.5 sacks in 2007 at the age of 32.

His final season in the NFL was spent with the Oakland Raiders in 2009. He turned to coaching in 2020 with Texas College, where he was a head coach for two years. He spent the past two seasons as the head coach with Southwestern Assemblies of God University.

This is his first real shot at coaching in the NFL and he has some great talent to work with in Dallas.