FRISCO, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys have just made another mid-season change, but this time it is to the assistant coaching staff. The Cowboys’ fired first-year offensive line coach Paul Alexander, the team announced on Monday. Marc Colombo will move into the vacant role, along with Hudson Houck, whom the team hired to work with Colombo and the offensive staff as a coaching advisor to smooth out the transitional process mid-way through the regular season.
Colombo is a former six-year veteran offensive lineman for the Cowboys. He made the transition from player to coach in 2015, when the club hired him as an assistant coach and he was named the assistant offensive line coach in 2016. He has continued to move throughout the organization in a variety of capacities and will now be the new offensive line coach.
Houck has held the position of ‘Offensive Line Coach’ for several NFL teams over his 40-year career including the Los Angeles Rams (1983-1991), Seattle Seahawks (1992), Dallas Cowboys (1993-2001, 2008-2011), San Diego Chargers (2002-2004), and the Miami Dolphins (2005-2007).
Dallas’ offensive line has undergone several changes this year with rookie guard Connor Williams making his first NFL debut as a starter and backup center Joe Looney becoming the new centerpiece and play caller at the line of scrimmage, with Travis Frederick’s diagnosis with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The line has struggled against defensive fronts and has not given QB Dak Prescott enough time to throw the football.
With this bye week decision, the Cowboys’ are hopeful that Colombo and Houck can come in and put together a game plan that will work, and bring the o-line back to its former rank of one of the best in the league.
