For the past decade the Dallas Cowboys have spent the off-season churning the roster. This year they’re churning coaches as running back coach Gary Brown has been officially replaced by Skip Peete who manned the role in Dallas between 2007-2012.
It’s not the first familiar face to earn a spot on Mike McCarthy’s staff, as they retained both Kellen Moore and Doug Nussmeier from the offensive coaching room, but this is the first face that’s returning for a second stint with the team after the absence.
The Dallas Cowboys will hire Skip Peete as running backs coach, per source.
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 15, 2020
Peete was most recently on the coaching staff of Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams where he worked with Todd Gurley. He will have a similarly talented back in Ezekiel Elliott upon his return to the Cowboys. In his last stint in Dallas, he never had a back with the kind of pedigree Elliott provides.
Skip Peete's Cowboys running backs:
DeMarco Murray (1 year)
Marion Barber (4 years)
Felix Jones (5 years)
Tashard Choice (3.5 years)
Julius Jones (1 year) https://t.co/TkcZoX9HYq— KD Drummond (@KDDrummondNFL) January 15, 2020
The speculation around this role had run rampant since the hiring of head coach Mike McCarthy. There were no reports that Brown was definitively ousted from his post, but it was clear that the McCarthy and company were looking to hire from the outside. The name that had appeared in the forefront was Stan Drayton from the University of Texas. Whether he removed himself from consideration is unknown.
It’s certain that Brown was a favorite of Elliott. The bond they formed was evident in Amazon’s coverage of the team in their “All or Nothing” series, though perhaps their relationship had moved beyond coach and player and was too friendly for McCarthy’s liking.
Brown was prepared for this, however. In the season finale of “Sounds from the Sideline” from The Mothership, he addressed his group as the game wound down.