Here are a few candidates the Cowboys could look at for offensive coordinator
It was Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett who made the decision to take the offense in a new direction with the firing of coordinator Scott Linehan, according to sources.
It is unlikely Garrett and the Cowboys made this decision in haste without a possible replacement in mind.
But the move to part ways with Linehan on Friday was a singular one with no corresponding move announced.
Tight end coach Doug Nussmeier, a former college offensive coordinator at Alabama, Michigan, and Florida, is an in-house candidate, according to sources. Georgia offensive coordinator James Coley is also an option, according to the NFL Network.
The front office will head to the Senior Bowl this week, where coaching hires often come to life, and possibly do interviews there while Garrett and the rest of the staff are at the Pro Bowl.
What is certain is that the next coordinator will be charged with the continued development of Dak Prescott as the team’s franchise quarterback.
Owner Jerry Jones, vice president Stephen Jones, and Garrett are sold on Prescott’s long-term future with the Cowboys.
So the coordinator will have to be able to mesh with him and hopefully take his game to the next level.
“I think Dak is only going to get better. I think he’ll continue to improve,” Stephen Jones said in some foreboding comments Thursday on 105.3 The Fan. “It’s our job to have the right people around him to help him improve, but, as I said, I think he’s got an insatiable appetite to be great. I think he’s got rare intangibles and rare leadership skills. As you said, he’s a winner. I think he’s going to do whatever it takes to continue to grow and help this team take the next step.”
The plan is also to find a coordinator to take the offense to the next level with Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott and receiver Amari Cooper after a 2018 season in which the Cowboys finished No. 22 in the league in both total offense and scoring offense, averaging just 21.2 points per game in 2018.
It’s not lost on the Cowboys that the four teams in the conference championships game on Sunday — the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints — were the top four teams in the league in terms of scoring.
“As we move forward, that will be a big part of what we’re about, because that’s one of the places we want to improve all the way around,” Stephen Jones said. “But certainly, as I said, we look at these final four teams and they’re the top scoring teams in the NFL. If we want to take the next steps, then we’re, not only going to have to improve as an offense, but all the way around. That’s what we intend to do here in the off-season. Nobody is satisfied and we’ve got our eye on the ball and ready to take the next step.”
This story was originally published January 18, 2019 at 3:53 PM.
