The great unravelling has begun. The 2020 Dallas Cowboys, a team that began the season with the highest hopes imaginable and a trendy off-season pick to contend for the NFC crown, has sprung a leak. Not the kind that opposing offenses constantly find on the field, but from within the confines of the Star in Frisco.
It’s going to be that kind of year. Just six games into a new regime and reports are beginning to surface that there’s players who are displeased with the coaching staff. NFL.com’s Jane Slater was the first to report the news.
#Cowboys players initially bought into keeping things internal. Now as they sit 2-4 the discontent is leaking out. On the coaching staff “totally unprepared. They don’t teach. They don’t have any sense of adjusting on the fly.” Another “they just aren’t good at their jobs”
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) October 20, 2020
It seems safe to assume that this is referring to the defensive side of the ball, though all the blame will land at the feet of head coach Mike McCarthy. After all, this is the hand picked staff that’s more than a year in the making. This is the group that he drew up while sequestered from the NFL, biding his time and getting the kind of PR treatment others dream of.
Mike Nolan has been an outright disaster. That’s been covered in this space before, so there’s no use beating a dead horse for the time being. And while there’s not a single positional group that’s playing well so far, nothing’s been worse than the team’s secondary. While Al Harris isn’t in charge, rumor has it that players are not a fan.
One coach that I know a few players aren't a fan of is Al Harris.
I don't get the sense they believe he knows what he is doing.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) October 20, 2020
This isn’t the first team in history, nor will it be the last, to fall short of expectations and begin infighting. But it is concerning that it’s happening so early in McCarthy’s tenure. It seems ages ago that his introductory press conference took place, the Jones family smiling from ear to ear.
Is it too early to pull the plug on a defensive staff that had no offseason? No. No it isn’t. While it would be unheard of to move on from a defensive coordinator less than halfway through the season, keeping this group around beyond 2020 is risking a flat out mutiny.
In the end, Cowboys fans need to know, and likely already did, that this was what the season would turn into once Dak Prescott’s ankle turned to mush. It’s possible that these complaints would have come out after another poor showing on Monday night, regardless of the quarterback. But buckle up, this won’t be the last of the airing of grievances.
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