Another year, another way the have found a means of sawing off their own ankle as if being tied to a 12-5 record with potential to win the was the same as being chained to a bathtub with Jigsaw talking to them from the other room. An abysmal end to a once-promising season landed when they mostly laid an egg
Carlos Correa Jersey against the on Super Wild Card Weekend, losing 23-17 in a game that again proved all they had to do was be somewhat awake and they would've walked away with a win.But as infuriating as it was for owner Jerry Jones and Co., they've opted to keep things steady atop the coaching pyramid -- confirming my reporting for CBS Sports -- settling that discu sion before it grows any legs this offseason. That doesn't mean they can sit back and simply hope for the best in Year 3 of McCarthy's five-year deal, however, because there is much work to do and no time to waste in getting it done.Unsure of the , and Dan Quinn, another could send ripples -- if not shockwaves -- throughout the staff beneath McCarthy and the roster beneath them all. That leads me to the very real question of where exactly do the Cowboys go from here, as both a team and as an organization?If they want to finally break the curse and land a sixth Lombardi trophy anytime soon, they need to listen up, because here's the blueprint for 2022 and beyond: I'm not going to say McCarthy needs to be fired, because that's both knee-jerk reaction and one that serves only to pander for clicks, so no thanks. The reality is I've seen enough improvement over Year 1 to warrant giving him one more chance (and only
Carlos Beltran Jersey one) to avoid forcing Prescott -- whom you signed to a multi-year deal -- to learn a third head coach in as many years, something that could actually have the opposite of your intended goal, so we're going to be much more scientific here and leave the feelings for Valentine's Day.Also, be careful what you wish for, seeing as some of you wished for Urban Meyer in 2020. Hell, even Kliff Kingsb-... nvm.Let's focus.Now let's talk about what McCarthy has to get better at, and yesterday. There can be a lot of good that comes with the changing of the guard at NFL head coach, particularly if the organization making the move is parting ways with a long-stale regime and installing a coach atop the totem that's proven, respected and has a clear direction for the future. Luckily for the Cowboys, they were able to sidestep mistakes in hiring Matt Rhule and the landmine that is Meyer, and for as much flak as McCarthy will justifiably take over the next several months, the fact he's actually gotten the organization back to winning games is a huge plus -- along with the fact he doesn't hang back to party at bars while getting handsy with the patrons (i.e., things could be better in Dallas, but they could also be so much worse). McCarthy is not without obvious flaws, however, and one is in his evaluation of a sistants in his regime. You could easily label him an old-school kind of guy and, to that point, he tends to lean more heavily toward implanting his guys than having the open-mindedne s needed to actually build what would be the most productive staff available. To that point, during the ousting of Jason Garrett, there were a couple gems on Garrett's staff that were sent packing as well, despite having done well at their jobs.I'll identify the three that matter most and who's absence is being felt in a major way:Marc Colombo - former Cowboys offensive line coachGary Brown - former Cowboys running backs coachJon Kitna - former Cowboys quarterbacks coachWholesale changes needed to be made in
Evan Gattis Jersey the coaching staff, undeniably, but the Cowboys threw out the baby with the bath water in trying to give McCarthy everything he wanted. Allowing him the power to build his own staff is key, and retaining Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator was a great indication he could be convinced to stick with the a sistants that were performing well at the time, but not enough was done to put a bug in his ear about Colombo, Brown and Kitna, who were replaced by Joe Philbin, Skip Peete and Doug Nu smeier, respectively, the latter two simply changing roles within the organization. In looking at the recent and now-consistent downturn in production acro s the offensive line, the running backs room (injury fueled this as well) and in the team being unable to get Prescott back to form, it's time to begin wondering about the incumbents. For example, the offensive line struggled mightily during the back end of the season -- even with All-Pro left tackle on
Jeff Bagwell Jersey the field -- and again in the playoff lo s to the 49ers, in what devolved into nothing more than a turnstile party.When Colombo was promoted from a sistant line coach to the lead role in 2018 in the wake of an abysmal decision to try Paul Alexander at the helm, the offensive line burst to life and was again one of the best in the league.Granted, he also had the benefit of Travis Frederick in 2019, but not in 2018, with the All-Pro center mi sing that entire season after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. They were near the top in all offensive line metrics under Colombo, who was dismi sed to install Philbin, but Philbin's two-year body of work now has many more blemishes than not. Colombo had a brief stint with the in 2021 -- following Garrett to Big Blue -- but a well-publicized spat with the now-fired Joe Judge led to Colombo walking away from the situation. Seeing as he's available at the moment and never wanted to leave Dallas in the first place, it might be time to send him the "you up?" text. And while Peete has
Jose Altuve Jersey done what he could, Brown had Elliott and Pollard doing amazing things under his tutelage, and Elliott simply hasn't consistently been the same without a coach he also viewed as family -- Elliott also winning two rushing titles under Brown, who is now the running backs coach at Wisconsin after recovering from a major illne s. As for Nu smeier, well, Prescott thrived indeed, but when it came time to coach him up and back to form, the failure(s) is evident. Kitna is easily a key reason for the version of Prescott the NFL enjoyed before the uneven play began on the back end of the 2021 season, and though he's currently taken his talents to high school football in Burleson, Texas, he's been known to return to Dallas a time or two to help save the day.Just saying.In all, it's worth imagining how well the Cowboys might be doing right now if McCarthy mixed the best of his incoming staff candidates (e.g., Joe Whitt Jr., Al Harris) with the best of what was already in the building. The decision to hire Mike Nolan was as much of a spectacular failure as the Paul Alexander hire was by Garrett, and we still aren't sure if the addition of ousted-Giants head coach Ben McAdoo as a consultant was additionally responsible for the disappointing finish to a strong but uneven season that left plenty of meat on the bone. There's also a conversation to be had about special teams coord
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