Day 4 of the Jason Garrett-Dallas Cowboys lovefest standoff was seeming to come to an uneventful close, and then ESPN happened. One assistant sat down with a rival team to talk about their head coaching job and another staffer is being touted as the frontrunner for a college coordinator gig.
Also, a yellow-jacket snub for a Cowboys legend, end-of-year bonuses for two defensive standouts (and a career decision in the offing for one), and a call for votes regarding the most famous play in team history. Next year’s opponents have been finalized, this year’s offensive prowess is put into painful perspective, and an early look at free agency puts the talents of two Cowboys on display.
All that, plus a posse of starters take the Vegas Strip, the best audio captured during Week 17’s big win, and a former Cowboys coach says goodbye to the game. That’s on tap in this edition of News and Notes.
Ed Werder said something, ESPN bosses claimed he said more than that and Thursday morning arrived with Jason Garrett still on the Cowboys’ payroll.
Kris Richard has had a sit-down session with the New York Giants about their head coaching position. The Cowboys’ passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach met Thursday with Giants president John Mara, general manager Dave Gettleman, and team vice president Kevin Abrams as the team begins its search for Pat Shurmur’s replacement.
Dallas has won the last six meetings with Big Blue; Richard has been on the Cowboys’ coaching staff for the past four. Richard’s unit helped hold New York to under 275 yards in two of those games, and 18 points or less in three of them.
The list of Modern-Era finalists to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame has been announced. Cowboys Ring of Honor safety Darren Woodson, the franchise’s all-time leading tackler, was one of 25 semifinalists. Once again, though, the five-time first-team All-Pro did not make the cut.
Linebacker and Texas native Zach Thomas, who played one year in Dallas after a 12-year stint with the Dolphins, was named one of the 15 Modern-Era finalists.
Several other former Cowboys are 2020 finalists for Canton in various categories. Jimmy Johnson and Dan Reeves are finalists in the Coaches category, while Drew Pearson and Cliff Harris are among the Senior finalists. Team founder Clint Murchison is a Contributors finalist.
The 2020 Class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame will be announced February 1.
Tight end Jason Witten was the one noticeably shaking hands with teammates at the end of 2019’s season finale, but he’s not the only longtime Cowboy who may have played his final game in a Dallas uniform. Linebacker Sean Lee may decide to hang up his cleats or even move on to different NFL pastures.
After agreeing to a reduced role in 2019, Lee played in all 16 games for the first time in his 10-year career. But the game has taken a toll, and the Penn State alum says he’ll have a decision to make.
“I’m going to take some time, talk to the wife, talk to the family and see where I’m at physically in a month or two and make a decision then,” he said.
Lee is set to be a free agent in March.
According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, veteran linebacker Sean Lee netted a million-dollar incentive bonus for playing in 59.1% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2019. Safety Jeff Heath collected $250,000 for playing more than 65% of the snaps.
Archer also notes that the team ended 2019 with approximately $19.5 million in cap room that can be carried over to 2020, citing NFLPA figures.
Fans still looking for answers on exactly how the Cowboys’ season could possibly be over won’t find any helpful answers in this piece. That’s because if you look at just the numbers, this Dallas squad ranks among the best ever in a few select categories.
Take, for example, teams since 1960 with the most wins of 30+ points, 400+ yards, and a 10+ point differential in a season. In other words, teams who had a habit of demolishing their opponents. Of the 14 teams atop that list, the 2019 Cowboys are the only bunch to not make the postseason. Most went quite deep into the playoffs. Take away Dallas, and the average team of that group boasted a 13-win record.
Crunch the numbers with Tony Thompson and see precisely where these Cowboys rank among 8-8 teams throughout history.
“Here’s your frontrunner.”
That’s what they’re saying in the Pacific Northwest about Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and the open OC slot at the University of Washington. Chris Petersen, Moore’s collegiate head coach at Boise State, stepped down as the Huskies’ coach in early December, and now new coach Jimmy Lake has let go of his offensive coordinator after UW defeated Boise State in the school’s recent bowl game.
Moore, who grew up in the state of Washington, would certainly be an attractive candidate after boosting the Cowboys offense to big numbers in the 2019 season, his first as an OC at any level.
In the season’s final installment of this popular segment, listen in as microphones pick up on-the-field chatter during the Cowboys’ blowout win over Washington.
Among the highlights are linebacker Sean Lee doing some coaching up of the defensive unit, great team reactions to wideout Michael Gallup’s acrobatic second touchdown catch of the day, and running backs coach Gary Brown offering some heartfelt proclamations to his guys in the midst of his own uncertain future with the organization.
Dallas’s list of 2020 opponents is set, based on the Cowboys’ second-place finish in the NFC East as well as the rotation of divisional pairings across the league.
At home in AT&T Stadium, Dallas will host Philadelphia, Washington, the New York Giants, Arizona, San Francisco, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta.
The Cowboys will travel to take on Philadelphia, Washington, the New York Giants, Seattle, the Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota, Cincinnati, and Baltimore.
Dates for the games will be announced in April.
As part of the league’s centennial celebration, fans are being asked to help choose the single greatest moment in NFL history. Each team has one signature moment in the running, with an online vote to help narrow things down round by round.
The 32 clips make for the ultimate highlight reel: John Elway’s helicopter run, The Ice Bowl, The Immaculate Reception, The Catch, the Patriots’ 28-3 Super Bowl comeback, the Chargers-Dolphins Epic in Miami in the 1981 playoffs, David Tyree’s helmet catch, and the Music City Miracle, to name just a few.
The Cowboys’ moment? The original “Hail Mary” pass from Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson that moved Dallas past the favored Minnesota Vikings in the 1975 playoffs, advancing them to the NFC championship game and, eventually, Super Bowl X.
Voting is open now. The Greatest Moment in NFL History will be revealed during Super Bowl LIV.
Dallas wideout Amari Cooper tops this list of free agents who don’t play quarterback. Despite a memorable number of drops, a frustrating dip in output in away games, and an apparent laundry list of minor maladies that kept him operating at less than full capacity, the quantifiable lift Cooper still brings to the team’s offense “is the best explanation for quarterback Dak Prescott’s increase in production and Cooper’s spot atop the offensive free agent list.”
A polarizing Cowboy also leads the list of best defensive free agents. “Many will point to [cornerback Byron] Jones not picking off a pass over the last two years, but his 74.1 coverage grade in single coverage is 11th-best during that time and Jones has also shown the ability to match up against tight ends when called upon.”
The season is over, the lockers are cleaned out, the offseason has begun. And for a group of Cowboys starters, it’s getaway time.
Cowboys fans are hoping what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And off TMZ.
Paul Pasqualoni has stepped down in Detroit. The 70-year-old defensive coordinator, one of coach Matt Patricia’s first hires when he took over in the Motor City, says he is stepping away from football.
Pasqualoni spent time on the Dallas coaching staff over his storied career. He served as tight ends coach in 2005 and is credited with helping to guide a young Jason Witten to his second straight Pro Bowl that season. In 2006, he moved to linebackers coach and was instrumental in DeMarcus Ware’s development as a second-year player. He left Dallas after the 2007 season, but returned for 2010 as the team’s defensive line coach. When head coach (and defensive coordinator) Wade Phillips was fired halfway through that season, Pasqualoni was tapped to serve as interim DC for the remainder of the season… under interim head coach Jason Garrett.
[vertical-gallery id=637120][lawrence-newsletter]
