The Dallas Cowboys never gave Kris Richard the title of defensive coordinator. Instead they had him spend two years as Rod Marinelli’s subordinate, despite using Richard’s verbiage and him calling the plays as the passing game coordinator.
When it came time to clear house and the Garrett regime was moved out the door, Richard went as well. He had a couple interviews for head coaching gigs, including the Giants job that went to Alabama special teams coach Joe Judge, but ultimately sat out 2020. The Cowboys secondary allowed Byron Jones to walk after Richard finally put him back at outside corner to flourish and fell flat on their face without the two men in 2021. As Dallas tries a brand new defensive staff for the second time in two seasons, Richard has resurfaced in the league. He was recently hired by the New Orleans Saints to be their new secondary coach.
The #Saints are adding a big-time name on their defensive staff, as sources say they’ll hire former #Seahawks DC and #Cowboys assistant Kris Richard as their new secondary coach. He fills the spot previously held by Aaron Glenn in Dennis Allen’s defense.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 2, 2021
The Cowboys, thanks to the rotating schedule of NFC divisions, will square off against Richard’s Saints in the 2021 season.
Cowboys list of 2021 opponents, 17th-game opponent finalized
After spending two years working out how to stop Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and Dak Prescott in practice, Richard will be charged with doing so in a live game, as well as getting his troops ready to go up against the likes of the NFC champion Tampa Bay Bucs. The question is who will be left for him to coach in that unit. Safety Marcus Williams is a free agent and many think the club could end up releasing Marshon Lattimore in a salary cap purge.
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