Dallas Cowboys Target Ra'Shaad Samples Staying With Oregon Ducks, Dan Lanning

The Cowboys job would have been a homecoming of sorts for Samples, who graduated from Dallas Skyline High School.

Samples tweeted out "#ScoDucks" on Monday morning, which sparked reports of his return.

Lanning hired Samples, who is just 29 years old, last April from Arizona State. He is a top-10 recruiter and ranked as the No. 1 recruiter in the Pac-12 Conference in 2023. Samples was the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at Arizona State in 2023. In 2022, he earned the honor as the youngest position coach in the NFL as running backs coach for the Los Angeles Rams.

He is the son of Reginald Samples, the head coach at Duncanville High School who is one of the winningest high school coaches in the state of Texas. Ra’Shaad Samples was the primary recruiter for the nation's No. 1 wide receiver Dakorien Moore committed to Oregon over his hometown state's Texas Longhorns, LSU Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes. Samples had a special relationship with Moore - Samples' father is Moore's high school head coach at Duncanville (TX).

Samples commit list also includes four-star running back Tradarian Ball (Texarkana, TX), running back Dierre Hill (Belleville, IL) and running back Jordon Davison (Mater Dei, Santa Ana, CA.)

"I mean, it feels normal. I think that's what Dan expects of me," Samples said of landing elite Texas talent in August. "That's what I expect of myself, so I mean, it's part of the job. That's what I came here to do to be able to sign some of these guys, - bring a different landscape, bringing in guys from Texas, and winning recruiting battles. It's a part of the job at this level and it's an expectation for me, it's the standard for me, it's the standard that Dan expects from me, it's why he brought me here."

In 2024, Samples led Oregon running backs Jordan James and Noah Whittington for a combined 1,807 rushing yards and 21 total touchdowns this season. James, specifically, had one of the best seasons for a running back in Oregon history with 1,267 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns. James was named All-Big-Ten Second Team. 

Samples played wide receiver at Oklahoma State University and Houston University. Samples' playing career ended early as he suffered multiple serious concussions and was eventually forced to medically retire.

The Cowboys recently promoted former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to be their coach and Dallas looks to continue to fill out its staff.