The Dallas Cowboys have to get a new kicker. Right now. Immediately.

According to Jerry Jones, the club is not going to fire head coach Jason Garrett in hopes of a miracle finish after a 6-6 start and somehow figuring out how to beat good teams after failing in their first five attempts. The fanbase has little faith this could happen, but one move they could make to improve those chances is to replace kicker Brett Maher, something that they’ve needed to do for a very long time.

They also need to replace special teams coach Keith O’Quinn, but with the writing on the wall  Garrett will be out at the end of the season, firing position coaches with just four games remaining seems out of the question, too.

Faith, or lack thereof, in your kicking game is one of the least acknowledged, but most influential parts of coaching there is in the NFL. When a head coach has confidence in his kicker’s ability to convert failed drives into points, it serves multiple purposes. A coach who knows their kicker is going to nail a 48-yard kick can take a shot beyond the sticks, or even into the end zone when faced with 3rd-and-long from the opponent’s 30-yard line. For two seasons the Cowboys have operated with zero ability to have that faith in Maher, and Garrett – a decidedly timid risk taker to begin with, has suffered mightily with this handcuff he has placed on himself.

The placekicker is hardly the biggest reason Dallas has been a major disappointment this year, but he has indeed been a big reason. Maher, after missing two more attempts in Thursday’s 26-15 loss to the Buffalo Bills is now down to under 68% on the 2019 season. There are 30 NFL placekickers who have attempted 14 or more kicks this season.

If Maher makes his two kicks, Dallas is within one score when they kicked off to the Bills with four minutes remaining. Instead of the onside attempt, which failed, they kick off deep and hope their defense can create a stop that gets them the ball back with a chance to win. That’s the difference made field goals can make.

Maher ranks No. 27 in the league. Even in a year of down kicking percentages across the entire league, Maher is a bottom feeder yet again. He ranked 25th last season, hitting just 80.6% of his kicks. During his stint in the CFL, he made 78% of his kicks. During his stint in college, he made 78% of his kicks. His NFL rate is now down to 75%.

As written back in February of this year, he’s not good.

A common refrain from the peanut gallery when the suggestion is made to replace Maher is, with who? Dallas waited too long, and while the team was watching Maher stink it up again on Thanksgiving, the New England Patriots signed the top candidate, Kai Forbath, after Nick Folk underwent surgery.

Back in October, Cowboys Wire ran this article, in which we identified Forbath among three NFL kickers along with still free agents Matthew McCrane and Cody Parkey.

Dallas needs to have those two players in Frisco, TX at The Star to workout for the team on Saturday. They have to show the rest of the players that failures of that magnitude, that consistent, will not be tolerated.

In that article, Cowboys Wire had fun with a Hollywood creation, but also brought up one CFL leg who is still of high interest and also needs to be in that Saturday workout, Sergio Castillo.

Bonus Offseason Name: Sergio Castillo (CFL)

Castillo has been kicking in the CFL for several teams over the last half decade, but really came into his own in 2017. Kicking for Hamilton, he made 29 of 34 kicks (85.3%), including a booming kick of 57 yards.

Then he tore his ACL in October and was out of football for 2018. He returned in 2019 for BC and went on to make 34 of 37 kicks, or 91.9%, including a 52-yarder.

It’s hard to get full information on CFL contracts, but it appears Castillo may be signed through the 2020 season, but it helps to know there is actually talent that could potentially come over from that league, and the club doesn’t have to end up with another Maher if they finally cut the cord.

Cowboys Wire has kept tabs on Castillo since that October article, and has learned although most CFL contracts do indeed run two years, Castillo has been released by the BC Lions after the league’s Grey Cup final this past Sunday.

Castillo is now free to tryout with any NFL team, though he cannot be signed until December 29th when CFL free agents can be signed to futures contracts for the 2020 season.

He won’t be able to help this year, but Dallas has a chance to solidify the position for the future while making a separate gesture to shore up the spot for the remainder of 2019.

His resume?

He’s a Texas kid, born in La Joya, TX and attending West Texas A&M University. Standing 5-foot-11 and weighing 185 pounds, he is not the typical kicker who wants to stay out of the spotlight and risks being shy in big moments.

Just look at his pictures.

Castillo finished the 2019 season at 91%, hitting 41 of his 45 attempts. Even better than that, he has experience punting as well, which if he was signed for the 2020 season, would allow Dallas to relieve themselves of Chris Jones, who has had two straight down seasons and has base salaries of $1.9 million and $2 million.

During a normal week, teams workout potential players on Tuesdays. With Dallas playing Thursday afternoon, this week’s Tuesday is actually Saturday, so this would be the opportunity to work out potential immediate and short-term replacements for Maher.

Find someone to finish this season, and then have he and Castillo in the offseason program to be the full-time kicker in 2020.

[vertical-gallery id=635041][vertical-gallery id=634743][lawrence-newsletter]