A look back at the decade that was in terms of the Dallas Cowboys DVOA rankings on both sides of the football.
A new decade of the NFL is on the horizon. With that in mind, it’s an easy time to take a look back on another frustrating stretch of Dallas Cowboys football. ESPN, in conjunction with Football Outsiders, has put a bow on the 2010’s by compiling the DVOA (a opponent-adjusted metric used to compare teams) by year. The snapshot it provides perfectly sums up the Jason Garrett era in Dallas.
Each edition of the Cowboys over the past decade had one thing in common: an offense held together by an under-appreciated quarterback. First it was Tony Romo, whose shortcomings in the playoffs submarined the casual fans view of his play. That same exact brush is currently being used to paint Dak Prescott.
Despite the article being behind a paywall, this information is readily available at FootballOutsiders.com.
There are three subpar offensive years on the lists. In 2010, the team fell apart after Romo broke his clavicle for the first time in Week 7 against the New York Giants. Before that, Dallas was tracking closer to a top 10 offense. In the disastrous 2015 campaign, Romo again played just four games after suffering the same type of injury in Week 2 against another divisional foe in the Philadelphia Eagles.
In what must be a devastating blow to the people who dedicate their online lives to the devaluing of Prescott, the two best years of offense came with No. 4 at the helm. His 2016 rookie season remains a pleasant surprise, but the true leap came last year, despite the meme-inducing 8-8 record. Even Prescott’s worst year in terms of quarterback play resulted in a 10-win season, a trip to the playoffs and a wild card win against the Seattle Seahawks.
Since former head coach Wade Phillips’ departure, the defense was never able to find its footing. The team had just one above average performance on that side of the ball, and played dismally just as often as not despite cycling through five defensive coordinators.
The next 10 years of football in Dallas is yet to be written. But with a quarterback of Prescott’s caliber in tow, history has shown at least the offense will pull its weight and give the team a puncher’s chance of the playoffs ever season.
Mike McCarthy initial moves in free agency all seem to address positions long neglected under Jason Garrett’s watch.
The 2020 Cowboys continue to take shape under Mike McCarthy. If each move the team makes at this early offseason stage reflects the new staff’s immediate thoughts of the roster they inherited from Jason Garrett, the external free agents so far signed by Dallas seem to address areas many perceived as roster holes continually carried by recent Cowboys teams.
In some regards, it’s been a typical offseason in Dallas. They’ve once again stayed out of headline-stealing free agent moves, but also have been involved with several high-profile contracts, mostly with their own players. The Cowboys have retained 12 members of last season’s roster (notably Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper), yet also lost CB Byron Jones and DE Robert Quinn to big money deals elsewhere. Coupled with the sudden retirement of Travis Frederick, McCarthy is juggling many factors out of his control in constructing the team’s upcoming roster. Much more within his control however, is the team’s own aggressiveness in pursuing roster additions with the offseason now in full swing.
The Cowboys were somewhat resistant to bringing in outside players under Garrett, often forgoing spending until the second and third-wave of free agency. With McCarthy now installed, he brings his own preferences and past relationships, and has chosen to supplement the roster at specific positions that’ve long-been identified as lacking. It’s not a coincidence and perhaps expected to experience this with any head coaching change, but Dallas’s recent additions should be promising to anyone who has wished for a fresh eye and perspective when constructing Cowboys teams.
Interior Defensive Line
Immediately noticeable is the additions Dallas has made to the interior of its defensive line, adding a significant amount of beef to both defensive tackle positions. Last offseason signaled a departure in strategy for the Cowboys, when they spent a second round pick on DT Trysten Hill. The draft selection represented a much richer investment than the team made previously made in the position, but one that unfortunately didn’t provide much value during the regular season. The additions of Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe will hopefully do more than offset the loss of Maliek Collins, and provide a stabilizing force in the center of the defense.
Look for the Cowboys to use Gerald McCoy (93) and Dontari Poe (95) together on the inside on passing downs like they did last year in Carolina. McCoy has the ability to rush from the outside. Poe also has plenty of experience as a 3-4 nose tackle pic.twitter.com/gGjQ4M7kk3
A potential cap casualty target last year, McCoy eventually found his way to Dallas, and stands to be a valuable chess piece for Mike Nolan’s defense. McCoy may no longer be a perennial Pro Bowl candidate or one of the game’s most unsung pass rushers, he’s still plenty capable of providing high quality snaps from the 3-tech position. He can also lineup as a defensive end, and help absorb some of the loss of Quinn opposite DeMarcus Lawrence. He’s a plug-and-play player that makes a ton of sense for the Cowboys DL unit looking for consistency and playmaking as they move into 2020.
The same can practically be said for Poe, the 6-4, 346 pound nose tackle who was McCoy’s teammate last year in Carolina. For too long, Dallas was content with spending the bare minimum at the 1-tech position, utilizing stopgaps and out-of-position players Collins and Hill to take reps at nose tackle. Poe may be a mercenary himself, but he’s a space eater with a successful track record that the team likely would’ve avoided under Garrett. There’s also chance under McCarthy that Dallas will actually draft a NT prospect before Day 3 of the 2020 draft, adding even more mass to a stable that includes McCoy, Poe, Antwaun Woods, and Hill.
Safety
Another position seemingly neglected under Garrett was safety, a hot-button topic amongst circles less than thrilled with the coverage skills of players like Jeff Heath and Barry Church. Dallas almost had an aversion to signing safeties in free agency and upgrading the position, even despite their very public flirtations with Earl Thomas that stretched over two seasons.
HaHa Clinton-Dix has his own flaws, but bringing him on represents another shift in priorities, and he’s coming off a very solid season as a member of Chicago’s strong secondary. A free-roaming ballhawk, Clinton-Dix owns 16 career interceptions over his first six seasons, a welcome sign for a team that continually ranks near the bottom each year in terms of total interceptions. The signing reunites Clinton-Dix with McCarthy, who coached him in Green Bay from 2014 – 2018, and also with Amari Cooper, who were both members on Alabama’s 2012 National Championship winning team.
Despite bringing back K Kai Forbath, who was perfect on field goal attempts down the stretch in 2019, the Cowboys set up an intriguing competition this upcoming training camp between him and Greg Zurelein, the longtime Rams kicker who was recently signed. Many were essentially begging the Cowboys to bring on competition for Brett Maher during his time in Dallas, a frustrating run that maybe best highlights how Garrett’s insistence on sticking with certain players eventually costs the team.
While the optics of rostering two kickers seems puzzling, the Cowboys will surely only keep one come the start of the regular season. The minimal guaranteed money involved with both deals makes it easy to walk away from either player, and signals that Dallas is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to rectifying last season’s special teams debacles.
Compared to last season’s external free agency class (Randall Cobb, Kerry Hyder, Christian Covington, and George Iloka), the players already brought in by the Cowboys represent significantly greater investments, and will likely be counted on for bigger roles for 2020. Whether or not the moves ultimately pan out remains to be seen, but it’s still encouraging to see the new staff open to improving areas many have clamored for as needing help.
A look at the annual awards from the crew at Football Outsiders who are bullish on the Dallas Cowboys offense remaining a top unit in 2020.
After a disappointing 2019 campaign that left a bitter taste in the mouths of everyone associated with the Dallas Cowboys, it’s important to remember that not everything was a total loss. The true bright spot came from the offensive side of the ball with first-year coordinator Kellen Moore flashing his skill as a play-caller.
Heading into 2020, the entirety of the staff has been shaken up in some way, save for Moore, who was retained by head coach Mike McCarthy. The decision to continue along that path is one of the best decisions the Cowboys brain trust could have made. In the 2019 Football Outsiders Awards, Moore was voted as the second best offensive coordinator in the league, behind only Greg Roman of the Baltimore Ravens.
The offense wasn’t perfect last season. There were times where the group stalled out at the worst times, but one would be hard pressed to find a more promising start to a play-caller’s career. With most of the core pieces expected to return in 2020, despite their current contract status, the staff at Football Outsiders is bullish on the Dallas offense maintaining their excellence. Regression to the mean is a very real thing, but the Cowboys’ offense ranked No. 4 in units predicted to avoid the year-after swoon. The units above them are Baltimore offense and both the offensive and defensive units for the San Francisco 49ers.
Other awards of note:
Former head coach Jason Garrett was left off the most ineffective coach list. Of the six coaches listed, only three of them lost their job.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott came in at No. 7 for the non-QB version of 2019 Offensive Player of the Year.
Guard Zack Martin tied for the ninth best offensive lineman in the league, but No. 4 among guards.
The Dallas offensive line was the eighth best unit in the league last year, though they garnered 0.0% of the votes.
Kicker Brett Maher was conspicuously missing from the “Keep Choppin’ Wood Award” that’s awarded to the player who hurt his team the most.
Elliott’s “Dak Dance” celebration was the staff’s fourth best touchdown celebration of the year.
Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, and the greatest receiving red zone threat, continues to lobby for a return to the team.
Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant has been putting in work on and off the practice field. On the field he’s working on honing his craft as he attempts to a return to the field for the first time since 2017. Off the field he’s working on what he wants most: a reunion with the Cowboys.
It can’t be ruled out. With former head coach Jason Garrett ousted and owner Jerry Jones being the biggest of Bryant’s fans, the all-time leader in touchdown receptions for the franchise could reprise his starring role into a supporting one.
Mike Doocy of the Dallas Fox News affiliate had an impromptu interview with Bryant, which can be seen in its entirely below.
“I miss scoring touchdowns,” is what Bryant told Doocy. It’s what he did best, hauling in a franchise-record 73 during his time in Dallas. It also aligns with what the Cowboys need most. The red zone is where he always did the most damage, and it’s an area that has been problematic for Dallas in recent years.
The last time Bryant donned a star on his helmet was in 2017. In what’s not likely a coincidence, the Cowboys finished No. 7 in red zone touchdown percentage at 59.62. In 2018 the team finished at No. 26 with a woeful 51.79%. 2019 was better, but it wasn’t good, with Dallas exactly in the middle of the pack, coming in at No. 16 with a touchdown percentage of 57.41.
For anyone who doubts Bryant’s acumen inside the 20-yard-line, here’s a list of the most efficient pass catchers in terms of touchdowns in the past decade.
Among players with over 100 targets inside the red zone, he ranks No. 3. The thing to take note of is he’s the only wide receiver who ranks in the top 11 players listed here. The rest are tight ends. There’s no receiver more lethal than Bryant in the red zone.
He was asked if he was hopeful for a return to the team that drafted him. He responded with, “That’s right. Yeah, of course, of course. That’s home. That’s home.” He later went on to say “I feel like they got the right pieces to go to the Super Bowl. And I feel like I can help be a part of that.” In a specialized role, there’s no doubt he’s capable of contributing the thing that has always mattered most: scoring touchdowns.
The Dallas Cowboys have hired tight ends coach Lunda Wells, who spent the previous two seasons in the same role with the New York Giants.
This much is clear about Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy: he has carte blanche in terms of his coaching staff. The latest move is the hiring of former New York Giants tight end coach Lunda Wells to replace Doug Nussmeier who took over the quarterback coaching gig from Jon Kitna.
There were thoughts that perhaps future Hall of Famer Jason Witten could get the nod coaching the position he played so well for so many years. With the Cowboys being run as a family business, and the amount of respect that owner Jerry Jones has for Witten, it seemed as if that would be a logical fit for this organization.
An in-division-coaching change: Giants’ TE coach Lunda Wells is being hired as the Dallas Cowboys’ TE coach, per league source.
In Wells, the Cowboys have perhaps identified a young coach on the ascent. He’s spent a little more than a decade in the coaching game, starting his career in the college ranks with LSU in 2008 as an offensive line assistant, a position he held for two years before working with special teams and acting as an assistant to the head coach.
The Giants brought him into the fold in 2012 as an offensive assistant before moving him to assistant offensive line coach for the next four seasons. In 2018 he was promoted to tight ends coach where he worked with Evan Engram. Engram isn’t the prototypical tight end of yesteryear, and spent half of each of the two seasons with Wells injured, never capturing the spark he showed in his rookie campaign.
The head coach wielding control over his staff hasn’t often been the case in Dallas in the past 20 years, with Jones dictating the terms of those in his employ, but it isn’t unheard of. Despite the long running meme of his meddlesome ways, Jones has turned over complete control at least once since recent Hall of Fame head coach Jimmy Johnson parted ways following back to back Super Bowl wins.
Bill Parcells was the last man with enough pull to convince Jones to relinquish control and allow him to do whatever it was he wanted to do, but McCarthy, a Super Bowl champion in his own right has walked in the door at The Star in Frisco and made himself right at home.
Several Dallas Cowboys who played wither with or for Jason Garrett reacted to news that he had been let go by the team Sunday night.
On Wednesday, Jerry Jones ushered in a new era of Cowboys head coaching, introducing Mike McCarthy as the ninth leader in Dallas franchise history. During the press conference, he referenced his reverence for the man leaving the post, Jason Garrett, and how found he was of the man and his family.
Jones noted that since he’s owned the team, starting in 1989, there’s only been two seasons where a Garrett wasn’t under his employ, starting with John Garrett, a long-time member of the scouting department and then with Jason’s playing career. Jones hasn’t been the only one waxing poetic about Garrett’s tenure ending, as his players – past and present – chimed in as well.
Word came down during the NFC Wild Card game- the one Dallas had hoped to be playing in- that the Cowboys had officially moved on from Garrett. After nine and a half roller-coaster seasons and one supremely bizarre week, the man in charge on the sidelines was no longer with the team.
In the hours that followed, many of the men who played for and with him were quick to share their support, gratitude, and- in some cases- other general reaction to the news.
Defensive tackle Antwaun Woods wasn’t able to stick on the roster in Tennessee, but found a home in Dallas under Garrett’s watch. He has seen action in 25 games over his two seasons as a Cowboy.
After coming from a place where I was labeled as a “practice squad player” Coach Garret told me I was the right guy for the team and is what this team is all about & that they needed me. For that I’m forever grateful 🤝. Thanks Coach. pic.twitter.com/bgi7iyjDdz
Fifth-year journeyman Justin March bounced around from Kansas City to Miami to Seattle before landing on the Cowboys linebacker corps early in the 2017 season. Garrett often praised players who showed “relentless spirit;” March reflected on that same quality in his former coach on Sunday night.
Not too many coaches I’ve been around that was as passionate about coaching football than JG. Every single day he brought energy to the building. We would walk in half asleep at 5:45 am and it’s like he’d been up for 2 hours already💙 this was everyday of the week.That is PASSION
Special teams assistant Phillip Tanner spent time under Garrett as a running back and special teams player from 2011 through the 2013 season. In 2019, Garrett welcomed him back to Dallas, naming Tanner to the coaching staff as a special teams assistant.
Just an inner city kid from Oak Cliff TX. I wasn’t even supposed to be here! Coach you believed in me as a player, then as a coach, ultimately you believed in me as a MAN! I am forever indebted. #StandTall#GarrettGuypic.twitter.com/1UBEiTHNiJ
Garrett’s release wasn’t a surprise, of course. Some players were asked about the seemingly-inevitable change in the moments that immediately followed the Week 17 game against Washington that ended their 8-8 season.
“It’s going to be hard,” running back Ezekiel Elliott told reporters on December 29. “Change is always hard. But we have a great group of men in this locker room. Not too worried. We’ve got a lot of vets, a lot of great players. I think we’ll be all right.”
Even though Elliott’s remarks reinforce the notion that the writing had been on the wall in Dallas for some time, it took another full week for ownership to officially sever ties with Garrett. Whether that seven-day standoff was more about owner Jerry Jones doing some true soul searching or just masterful news-cycle manipulating is up for debate.
Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman worked closely with Garrett during his playing days in Dallas and still considers him a friend. In the matter of how Garrett’s release was handled by his ex-employer during a week that started with vague speculation and mixed messages about showing Garrett “respect” yet ended with new coaching candidates being interviewed while Garrett was still in the building, Aikman sided with his former backup.
“He committed everything he had to the organization and to doing the best job that he could,” Aikman said of Garrett in an interview with Mike Doocy of Fox 4 in Dallas. “He made it a priority, and he committed himself. Breakups are always hard- we all understand that, at whatever level they occur- but I don’t know that after all that he gave and committed to this organization, that he received the same in return. When the organization was unwilling for whatever reasons- and I don’t know the backstories to it all- but when the organization was unwilling to come out publicly and say that, ‘We are seeking a new coach,’ and yet at the same time, reports are coming out that they’re interviewing potential new candidates for the head coaching position, that’s disappointing. I think, in a lot of ways, it shines a light on some of the dysfunction, if you will, within the organization and kind of how they got to the point that they’re in now.”
Former NFL lineman Uche Nwaneri had a similarly bold take on the culture in Dallas, as laid out in a Reddit thread in which he blasts the “alternate universe” that Garrett helped the front office sell to players “in which the Cowboys were defending Super Bowl champs.”
Not everyone connected to Garrett during his time with the franchise was sympathetic to how his tenure finally ended. Wideout Dez Bryant has been a vocal critic of the 53-year-old coach ever since he was released by the Cowboys in 2018 after eight seasons.
I don’t have no sympathy for coach Garrett losing his job
Bryant and Garrett had a tumultuous relationship, so his comments are not exactly surprising. How prescient he is about the Cowboys automatically becoming “real contenders” simply by breaking up with Jason Garrett remains to be seen.
That onus now falls on McCarthy to take the baton and get the franchise across the finish line.
A summary of head coach Mike McCarthy’s introductory press conference with the Dallas Cowboys.
The Mike McCarthy press conference to introduce him as the ninth head coach in the history of the Dallas Cowboys was more entertaining than it was informative. It was a certainly stark difference to the previous regime’s talking points, but it’s early on and the honeymoon glow is still abound.
The press conference was well attended, not only by the media which was out in force, but by some of the players currently on the roster and it didn’t take long for McCarthy to show emotion, choking up almost immediately.
Mike McCarthy is tearing up at the #Cowboys presser. He said he told his wife he wouldn't make it past 10 words before he did.
The gravity of the situation isn’t lost on him, referencing his previous stop as head coach of the Green Bay Packers to explain how he knows what the expectation is for football in Dallas. McCarthy went on to call the Dallas Cowboys “the most iconic franchise in professional sports.”
The word was mum when it came to officially naming staff and game plans, though several names have been bandied about. The main thing everyone wants to know is whether or not the team will switch to a 3-4 defense under defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, but McCarthy indicated that will all be revealed when they officially announce the coaching staff.
Mike McCarthy noncommittal about any plans to transition Cowboys from a 4-3 to 3-4 base defense. “We’ll get into that when we announce our staff and make clear the direction we’re going.”
As for the staff, owner Jerry Jones clearly knows the chatter among the fan base, that he’s been too heavily involved in building the coaching staffs in recent memory and he was explicit in stating he wanted McCarthy to pick his own.
Jerry Jones on Mike McCarthy picking his assistant coaches: “We wanted Mike to pick his own staff.”
It wouldn’t be a press conference in Dallas without a mention of Jason Garrett, who, even as he was being ousted, remained as classy as ever. He gave rave reviews of his successor, telling Jones “you’re not going to meet anybody more special than Mike.”
Jason Garrett told Jerry Jones "you're not going to meet anybody more special than Mike [McCarthy]", when Jones told Garrett he'd sit down with McCarthy last weekend.
Jones spoke lovingly, not only of his previous coach, but the entire Garrett family, noting that he’s written a check to a Garrett in some form or fashion for 28 of his 30 years in the league as he has worked with both his father and his brother through his tenure.
Jerry Jones notes that he has written a check to the Garrett family for all but two of his years as owner. That’s including Jason’s father, Jason’s time as a player and then as a coach.
He says Jason is a great guy with a great family and wishes the best for him.
The highlight of the press conference came when the timeless question was posed to McCarthy: Did Dez catch it? It drew laughs from those in attendance and was answered as diplomatically as possible, saying “It was a great catch, I can say now. It wasn’t then, technically.”
It took 29 minutes but the Dez Bryant/catch-noncatch was asked and Mike McCarthy said, "It was a great catch, I can say now. It wasn't then, technically." Had referee Gene Steratore not told McCarthy the letter of the catch rule back in 2014, McCarthy… https://t.co/dai9VyyKYj
There will be more news in the coming days regarding actual football related material that will be covered in depth here at the Cowboys Wire. But for now, enjoy what is the beginning of a long ride.
The New York Giants interviewed several candidates early in their process, but they made it very clear the man they wanted was Baylor’s head coach Matt Rhule. Rhule is a former assistant, and was close to getting the job with the New York Jets last …
The New York Giants interviewed several candidates early in their process, but they made it very clear the man they wanted was Baylor’s head coach Matt Rhule. Rhule is a former assistant, and was close to getting the job with the New York Jets last year but decided there was too much interference in the front office for his liking. It appeared a match made in heaven.
But on Tuesday morning, Rhule agreed to terms to become David Tepper’s new head coach for the Carolina Panthers, never even making it to his scheduled interview with the Giants. Having to turn their attention elsewhere and regroup, the Giants have now requested permission of the Dallas Cowboys to interview Jason Garrett.
Garrett, despite Dallas having agreed to terms with Mike McCarthy to replace him, is still an employee of the Cowboys until his contract expires, January 14.
The #Giants have requested permission to speak with former #Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo. He’s still under contract in Dallas until Jan. 14, so permission is required.
A source tells @dmn_cowboys the Cowboys granted the Giants permission to speak with Jason Garrett for their vacant head coaching job. Garrett is signed with the Cowboys through Jan. 14.
Garrett spent his final NFL season, in 2000, as a member of the Giants after playing seven seasons with Dallas; it would be fitting for his career as a coach to follow a similar trajectory.
As a coach, Garrett was dismissed after missing the playoffs for the sixth time in nine full seasons. He ended with an 85-67 overall record, a .559 winning percentage.
New York parted ways with Pat Shurmur after two years and a 9-23 mark. They have finished under .500 in six of the last seven seasons.
An examination of the Dallas Cowboys’ culture and environment provided by former player Uche Nwaneri on social media.
In today’s saturated social media world, NFL players, both current and former, often take to the internet to voice their opinions. This is not always a good thing for pro athletes who often sound off first and think about the consequences later. Some are bizarre, some spiteful and some both as exemplified by the myriad of tweets by the mercurial Antonio Brown. Then there are the occasional and intriguing insights into the inner workings of an NFL franchise that find their way public.
Such a case occurred recently on Reddit, where former offensive guard Uche Nwaneri elected to start a thread to sound off on the current state of the Dallas Cowboys, who at the time of the writing, hadn’t yet officially walked away from head coach Jason Garrett.
While some won’t see Nwaneri as the expert in all things Cowboys, he has been privy to the inner workings of the team, from inside the four walls.
After playing seven seasons and 92 starts with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he signed as a free agent in the 2014 offseason. He was brought in to compete for a reserve role at left guard in training camp. His stay ended at the final cuts in late August which effectively ended his professional career in the league.
Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Posting under the verified handle The Observant Lineman, Nwaneri provided his personal and up-close perspective about Garrett and also the cultural challenges of being a player on the club.
“In my short time playing in Dallas, I learned a lot about the circus environment that is the world of the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry World as we have come to know it, is the ever present dark cloud that will keep this franchise from reaching the levels of success they attained when they WERE America’s team in the 1990s.”
While the claims of a circus-like atmosphere surrounding the Cowboys is nothing new and is mostly self-evident, Nwaneri was able to go into more detail, addressing Garrett, his staff at the time, and what the flavor was like in what was then known as Valley Ranch.
“When I first walked into the Cowboy’s facility as a free agent signing after leaving Jacksonville, I was filled with excitement, yet that would soon turn to annoyance, as I was constantly reminded of the privilege it was to play for the Dallas Cowboys. Posters, and signage plastered all around the facility pushed a message of prestige and inflated arrogance. And as a player who came from a small market team in the Jaguars, I could sense that arrogance a mile away. This was a narrative that was constantly shouted from the mountain tops while at Valley Ranch, not by the players, whom I got along with fine and had immense respect for, but from Jason Garrett and his staff. This was the moniker that no player could escape whether they liked it or not. It was as if we were in some alternate universe in which the Cowboys were defending Super Bowl champs. Except it was a falsehood.”
Now that the Cowboys have since graduated to an even-higher level of status with the glitzy Star In Frisco, complete with fan interactive tours and even grander spectacle, it is not hard to imagine the experience for a player entering the team headquarters and training facility could be any less in 2020.
“It was quite mind boggling to me that the staff, headed by Garrett, was promoting a false culture around a mystique that had long since faded in the mind of those who lived outside the cultural bubble of the silver and blue. There is no doubt that the market of the Cowboys brand is the most powerful in sports. That market is based on an image that was built on the back of champions. That image is maintained by a hype machine that works in overdrive 24/7 and usually is more to the detriment of those on the roster than a benefit.”
Despite the fact that it appears his commentary was a jab at a possibly-departing Garrett, Nwaneri went on to note that was not quite what he perceived as the root cause what he coined as a false culture.
“The Dallas Cowboys fail because they have an owner who has interjected himself in the daily operations of a professional sports franchise. True enough it is his team, but there is a certain level of trust that an owner needs to have in the abilities of his coaching staff to do the job he has paid them to do. Jerry is the final say on all personnel decisions. He is the spokesperson for the cowboys. The biggest fan of the Cowboys. And in the end, his decree is passed down as if he was the head coach of the Cowboys himself. His influence over the entire narrative for the Cowboys is undisputed, both in the media, and the locker room.”
For emphasis, the post finished specifically with addressing the pitfalls facing a locker room that is dominated by the Jones specter.
“In the end, for better AND for worse, Jerry Jones is responsible for the constant failings of the Dallas Cowboys. The locker room in Dallas buckles under the immense pressure, and hype created by long past success. Long past success and nostalgia that Jerry himself is chasing. Until he decides to let go of that past glory and undisputed control/influence over the narrative of his team, changing coaches will not amount to the success he seeks. Until he steps back and lets go of the power he has embellished himself in, nothing will change. Until he allows himself to see the Dallas Cowboys for what they truly are, they will never be what he so desperately wants them to be. The Dallas Cowboys are a mediocre football franchise. A mediocre franchise with an extraordinary amount of talent. And that is solely the fault of the very man who long ago turned the silver and blue into a way of life. Jerry Jones.”
When a former player castigates a powerful figure like Jones, it is bound to provide some important food for thought for the fanbase.
As the Cowboys now search for their next head coach, some of the points made by Nwaneri have to be considered.
Will Jones decide to step back and no longer be the driver of the culture of the franchise? The answer is more than likely no. If anything, he may elect to briefly fade into the shadows as he appeared to do the last time he hired a bigger-than-life commander in Hall of Famer Bill Parcells.
If Nwaneri’s perceptions in 2014 still translate six years later, the next head coach will likely have to be the kind of leader who has the gravitas and will power to become the culture-buster that would be right for the future. This coach would also have to find a way to function in the environment without embracing the glamour and focus on winning football games.
It sounds like a daunting task that will be an immediate challenge to whomever is designated to navigate the franchise going forward. But it is clear at least from this particular former player, that kind of change will not be possible with Garrett still at the helm functioning as Nwaneri quips later, Darth Vader to Jones’ Darth Sideous.
As things come into more clear focus over the upcoming weeks, this should be a consideration as fans make their judgments on the head coach decision.
You can chat with or follow C.C. on Twitter @boozeman811.
When owner Jerry Jones said he was ready to make a change, just not prepared to discuss it in the immediate aftermath of the Dallas Cowboys’ regular season finale, he wasn’t kidding. Despite already holding interviews with multiple candidates for …
When owner Jerry Jones said he was ready to make a change, just not prepared to discuss it in the immediate aftermath of the Dallas Cowboys’ regular season finale, he wasn’t kidding. Despite already holding interviews with multiple candidates for the position, the Cowboys had yet to officially relieve head coach Jason Garrett of his duties.
The result has been a week of ridicule, as explanations moved from the front office giving Garrett time to say his goodbyes, knowing his contract officially ended on January 14, to rumors that Garrett was asking the team not to dismiss him until they found their man. Things have come to a head though, a week later in the midst of one of the most exciting wild-card weekends in recent memory. According to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, the team has finally informed Garrett he is out.
The Cowboys have already interviewed out-of-work former coaches Marvin Lewis and Mike McCarthy. They’ve also reportedly reached out to gauge the interest of University of Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley. In addition, several head coaches and staffs are now out of the playoffs and some may be in consideration.
