FRISCO, TEXAS — The Dallas Cowboys have made several hires and moves under Mike McCarthy’s leadership to revamp the team:
Kellen Moore- Offensive Coordinator
McCarthy is in charge of assembling his staff in Dallas and chose to retain the young, talented offensive coordinator. The Cowboys’ offense made significant strides in 2019 under the leadership of Moore. He called plays in 2019 and turned the offense around. In addition to being ranked first in total offense, Dak Prescott passed for 4,902 yards, Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 1,357 yards, and both Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup amassed over 1,000 receiving yards. McCarthy made comments on the creativity of Moore’s motion plays following the season, and regardless of who is calling plays on offense for the Cowboys in 2020, expect to see a lot more play-action and RPO’s.
Mike Nolan- Defensive Coordinator
The first hire McCarthy made was acquiring Nolan from the New Orleans Saints, where he spent three seasons as their linebacker’s coach. The two previously worked together in 2005 when McCarthy served as the offensive coordinator under 49ers head coach, Mike Nolan. When McCarthy came on board in Dallas, he wasted no time checking off the first box on his coaching wish list of sorts. A new era means the parting of ways between the Cowboys and Rod Marinelli. Marinelli has been the defensive coordinator since 2014 in Dallas and has been known for his base 4-3 defense and “Marinelli Madness” videos he showed to get players hyped prior to game days.
The Cowboys defense had a stellar year across the board in 2018 when Kris Richard joined Marinelli as the passing game coordinator/defensive backs’ coach. The group underperformed in 2019 and went in a downward spiral as coaching roles changed. Richard was given a larger role of calling defensive plays in addition to working with the secondary, and he began talking with the media on a weekly basis. The defense’s production took a huge step backward on the field with conflicting leadership from coaches. Players fit into Marinelli’s 4-3 scheme but were having to operate in Richard’s system. Obviously, the defense needed attention following the lackluster year and McCarthy came in with a different approach, beginning with hiring Nolan to get the talented group back on track.
John Fassel- Special Teams
Throughout the 2019 season, special teams was horrendous, to put it lightly. The unit constantly gave opponents favorable field position and addressing the issues became top priority for McCarthy. I have heard from multiple sources that coordinator Keith O’Quinn will be kept on in the scouting department, but McCarthy grabbed John “Bones” Fassel to join the Cowboys and fix the special teams woes. Fassel was the Rams’ special teams coordinator from 2012-2019 and acted as the interim head coach in 2016. Under the leadership of Fassel, Rams’ players have earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors 15 times and his units are consistently ranked in the top 10. He will be a much-needed upgrade for Dallas.
Position Coaches:
Jim Tomsula- Defensive Line
Defensive wizard, Marinelli was well known for developing D-line players and his shoes will be hard to fill. McCarthy brought in Jim Tomsula to fill the role with his own impressive track record of success. He recently worked with the NFC East Rival Redskins as their defensive line coach (2017-19), and although the unit’s performance and ranking as a whole may have been underwhelming, the line’s pass rush was one of the most dominant in the league under Tomsula. He loves big-bodied defensive lineman to fill gaps and will sure-up Dallas’ defensive front.
Joe Philbin- Offensive Line
Even though the Cowboys’ pass protection drastically improved in 2019 under Marc Colombo to the best in the league allowing the lowest percentage of sacks on passing attempts, McCarthy wanted to bring in someone he has history with. The two worked in Green Bay together from 2007-2011, and again in 2018. The pair built the foundation on offense for the 2010 team that beat the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. Philbin will now inherit the best starting O-line in the league.
Maurice Linguist- Secondary
The Cowboys reportedly hired Texas A&M’s cornerback coach, Maurice Linguist to help coach Dallas’ secondary. He will move up from college station to the NFL level. Linguist has a lot of experience with DB’s at the college ranks, working with Buffalo (2012-2013), Iowa State (2014-2015), and Mississippi State (2016-2017). He worked with Cowboys’ safety Donovan Wilson during his two years at A&M. Dallas drafted Wilson with the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft and he will be reunited with his former college coach. Dallas is likely moving on from Kris Richard.
Doug Nussmeier- Quarterbacks
Nussmeier is expected to replace Jon Kitna as Dak’s quarterback coach. Nussmeier served as the tight end’s coach under Jason Garrett from 2018-2019. Despite the fact that Dak Prescott hit career-highs in passing yards (4,902) and touchdowns (30) in 2019 under Kitna, McCarthy has decided to move on. Nussmeier will be Prescott’s fourth position coach in his five NFL seasons. Prescott did a better job in 2019 releasing the ball quicker, reacting to blitzes, and reading certain looks by opposing defenses (zone coverages etc.). McCarthy is known as an architect for the QB position and he will also help develop Dak along with Nussmeier in 2020. This leaves a vacancy for the TE coach. The Cowboys have Jason Witten, a veteran and future hall of famer at the position that will likely be a strong candidate for the role.
