Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy to let Kellen Moore call plays, build on success
Since “a surreal” ride on owner Jerry Jones’ private helicopter that brought him to the Star in Frisco from the airport for last Wednesday’s introductory press conference, new Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy has not seen the light of day.
He has spent his days and nights walking the corridors between the Omni Hotel, where he is staying, Ford Center and the team headquarters at the Star going about the business of assembling his staff and getting the 2020 Cowboys up and running.
There have been no trips back home to Green Bay and no going outside, as McCarthy admittedly missed the record-high 81 degree day on Wednesday.
He took time out Thursday to answer a few questions about his transition to Dallas and his staff decisions after the past 14 years in Green Bay.
Most of the moves have already been chronicled though McCarthy did acknowledge that Al Harris will serve as a defensive backs coach along with Maurice Linguist.
The team must still find a receivers coach and possibly a strength coach.
But he confirmed these coaches on staff: defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, special teams coach Jim Tomsula, offensive line coach Joe Philpin, running backs coach Skip Peete, quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, tight ends coach Lunda Wells, linebackers coach Scott McCurley and assistant offensive line coach Jeff Blasko.
The biggest news on Thursday was McCarthy’s announcement that Moore will call plays on offense in his West Coast system. The Cowboys also will use the same terminology from the timing-based system they used under the fired Jason Garrett.
“I thought he did a very good job, so I want to keep the language on offense the same,” McCarthy said. “I’m confident that Kellen can still be the play-caller. That’s the path we’re going down. We’re still working through that, but my goal is for him to be the play-caller.”
McCarthy said the structure and “how we organize the offense, how the game analysis and how it’s installed and the structure, the components surrounding that will probably come from my background.”
But he was impressed with what Moore did in his first year as offensive coordinator last season, directing the league’s No. 1-ranked offense. Quarterback Dak Prescott passed for more than 4,900 yards to go along with two 1,000-yard receivers in Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup and a 1,300-yard rusher in Ezekiel Elliott.
McCarthy was so impressed that he said he would have pursued Moore for a staff position if he had landed a job somewhere else. He interviewed for openings with the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants before being hired by the Cowboys.
It made sense for him to keep Moore here and let owner Jerry Jones know that was his plan during his interview for the job.
“Kellen Moore is someone that I was watching from afar, regardless of which opportunity worked out for myself personally,” McCarthy said. “With that, the opportunity to work with Kellen is something I was going to pursue either way. So obviously getting the Dallas job and the things you wanted to keep in place here, I wanted to make sure that we were able to capitalize on what had been established here, the old theory of don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. So, I do want to build off of what’s in place.”
McCarthy believes the melding of the two systems can help build on the offensive success the Cowboys had in 2019.
Going with Moore as the play-caller means that McCarthy is the one who is going to make the biggest change as he has been “in the same terminology since my days” at the University of Pittsburgh in 1989.
“This will be good for me and frankly, it’s not about me,” McCarthy said.
He acknowledged it’s about the relationship between Moore and Prescott.
“That’s why the opportunity for him to call plays is a focus,” McCarthy said. “His relationship with the quarterback is, as I’ve always stated when we talk about the quarterback, the offense will be built around making the quarterback successful. What Dak has established here in this current offense is very important to me as we put this offense together.”
Part of building off what’s in place involved moving Doug Nussmeier from tight ends coach to quarterbacks coach, based partly on Moore’s recommendation.
Jon Kitna served as quarterbacks coach last season and was credited with helping Prescott have a career year in passing yards (4,902) and passing touchdowns (30).
But Prescott’s connection to Moore dates to his rookie season in 2016 when they were teammates and continued with Moore serving as quarterback coach in 2018 after his retirement before being promoted to offensive coordinator. And Moore wanted Nussmeier.
McCarthy said he is taking a year one approach with the offense and play calling. Things could change, if necessary.
His goal was to make sure the transition was as easy as possible for the players when they return.
