Mike McCarthy has officially moved in; now the housecleaning really kicks into gear. After several coaching moves in the defensive and special teams departments, the newly-named ninth head coach in club history is now shaking things up on the offensive staff, too. Offensive line coach Marc Colombo will not return in 2020; that news leaked shortly before McCarthy’s introductory press conference on Wednesday.
Wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal will also be departing, according to reports.
#Cowboys WR Coach Sanjay Lal tells me he has indeed been let go. Disappointed he tells me he is proud of what his receivers accomplished this season. Amari Cooper career highs in touchdowns and receiving yards Michael Gallup, a 1a Receiver in his second year & over 1000 yards 1/2
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) January 9, 2020
Lal took over the team’s receiver group in 2018 after serving in the same capacity for the Colts, Bills, Jets, and Raiders over the previous nine years. As Slater notes, Lal oversaw the best season in Pro Bowler Amari Cooper’s career and a breakout second year for Michael Gallup.
The development of Lal’s receivers in Kellen Moore’s offense added versatility to a scheme that had become frequently predictable, especially on third downs.
Another less-known contribution Sanjay Lal made to 2019 Cowboys: He designed their third-down plan.
Only the Chiefs (47.6%) converted third downs at better rate than Cowboys' 47.1% thanks to highlights like this onepic.twitter.com/l2QNPGUag0
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) January 9, 2020
But the Cowboys pass-catchers also ranked as the league’s worst in 2019 in terms of drops. Despite having another year on his contract with the franchise, Lal himself will, it seems, be dropped from McCarthy’s new staff.
There is no word on who the Cowboys’ new wide receivers coach may be.
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