Hairopoulos: With great possibilities' in mind, Jerry Jones is not in a rush to finalize Cowboys' coaching staff

boozeman

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With great possibilities' in mind, Jerry Jones is not in a rush to finalize Cowboys' coaching staff



By Kate Hairopoulos , Staff Writer Contact Kate Hairopoulos on Twitter:@khairopoulos

MOBILE, Ala. -- Many Cowboys fans uttered hallelujahs Friday upon learning of the departure of offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.

But it's already become clear that the franchise isn't planning an infusion of new brainpower for the staff, aside from adding former longtime NFL quarterback Jon Kitna as quarterbacks coach or a to-be-determined role.

Instead, Dallas plans to tap into the abilities of the coaches on hand, including head coach Jason Garrett and Kellen Moore and Doug Nussmeier, who served as quarterbacks coach and tight ends coach, respectfully, in 2018.

Certainly, some eyes are already rolling at this point.

But team owner Jerry Jones is convinced the approach can result in an improved offense, which postseason results have re-emphasized as a requisite these days in the NFL.

The Cowboys overhauled the offensive staff a year ago, Jones underscored Tuesday from Senior Bowl practices here at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. And he liked what it did in the second half of the season after adding receiver Amari Cooper via trade, when the team went 7-2 and made the divisional round of the playoffs, even as the offense underwhelmed more than it impressed.

The formula for how it all works minus Linehan and the titles the coaches will carry are still under discussion. Jones likes the "flexibility" of the staff. The structure will likely be the topic of conversation when Jones takes the staff and honored players out to dinner Wednesday night at the Pro Bowl in Orlando, and in the days to come.

"There's a lot of great possibilities," Jones said. "I feel really good. I don't feel in a hurry about anything."

Would one idea include Garrett resuming control of play-calling?

"It could be more, or less," Jones said of Garrett's involvement in the offense. "Either way. But I'm comfortable with Jason Garrett."

Garrett is open to change, Jones said.

Jones, by the way, wouldn't talk about a possible extension for Garrett, who has one year remaining on his deal.

How could this all possibly add up to enough change to show real improvement from the No. 22 ranking in points and yards per game?

"Any staff you have people who aren't in charge that feel differently about concepts, but they're also, they're deferential," said executive vice president Stephen Jones. "We believe that some of the young guys, given the opportunity to put some of their concepts into play, will cause change. ...You see it around the league with some of the young, talented coaches. When they get opportunities, they run things a little differently."

Moore, a standout quarterback at Boise State, served as Dallas' backup and third-string quarterback as recently as 2017. Nussmeier spent much of his career in the college ranks, including coordinator stints at Alabama, Florida and Michigan.

"Kellen is very unique to be as young as he is, fresh off of playing," Jerry Jones said. "He's really made quite a splash, quite an impression. ...Nussmeier is one to come to mind and certainly available to look and see how we can get better. And that's what we're into here."

Both Joneses said that they liked Kitna's NFL experience as a quarterback and what that will mean to quarterback Dak Prescott, but also highlighted his time spent as a high school football coach.

"People say, 'Well, what does that have to do with it?'" Stephen Jones said. "I was seeing where [Eagles coach Doug] Pederson and [Bears coach Matt] Nagy both were -- I think [Chiefs coach] Andy Reid found them at the high school levels. And look at what they're doing. I just think, as I said, he's a pro's pro."

Jerry Jones said that the focus of the offense going forward will be on allowing the players to best utilize their talents, making adjustments and finding flexibility in the scheme that comes into play when dealing with injuries or matching up with opponents.

As for the installations:

"How much run-pass option?" Jerry Jones said. How much straight downhill [running] do we do? All of those things will be discussed. ...
"And so this will be a very positive time. We've learned a lot about ourselves and learned a lot about the team this year.

"I want to emphasize again this staff was new and come together in my mind as the season went along."

Jerry Jones said he takes the input of players such as Prescott "significantly" into account when making staff decisions.
And developing Prescott will clearly be at the top of the list as the offense moves forward.

"The number one priority is to have somebody who's going to be bringing out the best of Dak," Stephen Jones said. "Utilize his skills the best, be able to do things that help us improve on the offensive side. …

"You have to take note when the final four teams in the playoffs were the four highest scoring teams in the NFL. We weren't one of those teams."
Twitter: @khairopoulos
 

DLK150

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I wish someone would dig up some dirt on the Jones family and force them to sell the franchise, something, anything. Same canned crap after every season that ends without a SB title. Football in general has become nothing more than a distraction from life for me, one that I no longer enjoy as much as I once did. Sigh. Whatever.
 

p1_

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Jerry has long been a groper and womanizer. Wonder how he escaped the #metoo crusade.
 

Rev

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Jerry has long been a groper and womanizer. Wonder how he escaped the #metoo crusade.
Money can make people forget. Just have to get ahead of it.
 
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UncleMilti

This seemed like a good idea at the time.
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I like the idea of Kitna at QB Coach. Moore at OC...fuck no. He doesn't have any experience, and he sucked ass as a QB at the pro level.

I'm hoping that they bring someone in from the outside.
 

Hoffa

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I like the idea of Kitna at QB Coach. Moore at OC...fuck no. He doesn't have any experience, and he sucked ass as a QB at the pro level.

I'm hoping that they bring someone in from the outside.

I haven't heard any talk of a Garrett extension in a while. If Jerry is sending him into 2019 without an extension, and Garrett wants to sink or swim by being back in the drivers seat of the offense, with two minions in Kitna and Moore who won't question him, then fuck it, let's do it.
 

fortsbest

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I like the idea of Kitna at QB Coach. Moore at OC...fuck no. He doesn't have any experience, and he sucked ass as a QB at the pro level.

I'm hoping that they bring someone in from the outside.
You know what they say, those that can't do, coach. It works in baseball. Maybe it'll work here.
 

midswat

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Now that I’m detached from this team, it makes me hate myself for at one time thinking Steve would be the franchises saving grace.

That dumbass Kitna was a HS coach but so was Nagy and Pederson was such a Jerry justification. It’s comical.
 

Smitty

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I like the idea of Kitna at QB Coach. Moore at OC...fuck no. He doesn't have any experience, and he sucked ass as a QB at the pro level.

I'm hoping that they bring someone in from the outside.
Sucking as a player is pretty irrelevant, and having no experience isn't necessarily a deathknell.... every successful OC has "no experience" doing it at some point. Additionally, the Cowboys have lots of guys who do have experience on the offensive staff, including Garrett and Nussmeier.

What is disconcerting and what makes it a horrible idea, IMO, is that he hasn't shown proficiency at QB coach. He hasn't mastered the role he had, so why would we think he's better with a promotion? Oh, because the QB likes him.

And probably because the handful of actual OC upgrades we reached out to, turned us down.

Well, my only conceptualization of the Garrett regime working out was to get an innovative new OC with new ideas who could springboard us to the next level. So far that seems like a whiff.
 

p1_

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New Offensive Coordinator For Cowboys Will Come From Within

January 24, 2019 6:50 am Ben Grimaldi


The Dallas Cowboys began addressing one problem from the 2018 season when they let go of Scott Linehan last week. Linehan was the source of much vitriol from Cowboys fans over the past two years.

However, now the question has become, who will replace Linehan as offensive coordinator?
All roads appear to be leaning towards an in-house candidate. The Joneses and Jason Garrett have all hinted this to us this ever since the season ended.

Garrett didn’t foresee major changes, even though he did make one by letting Linehan go, and Jerry Jones said that he’s “in no hurry” to name the new offensive coordinator. Jones also added that he likes the “guys we’ve got in-house.”

Actions speak louder than words and that rings true here for the Cowboys. The team has yet to interview anyone publicly (minus some mystery candidate last week) and there doesn’t appear to be any meetings set-up in the future.

If the Cowboys wanted to hire someone from an outside organization, they would have moved quickly to secure his services. That doesn’t seem to be the case here, so the next offensive coordinator will probably come from inside the team, which means we can rule out two possible candidates. Saints’ assistant head coach Dan Campbell and Georgia Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator James Coley don’t look like they are going to be Dallas’ new offensive coordinator. Both were names floated since Linehan was axed.

That leaves the leading candidates to be tight ends coach Doug Nussmeier and quarterbacks coach/possible passing game coordinator Kellen Moore. Those are the two best possible guesses and all the chatter coming out of Dallas indicates it will be one of these two coaches from the current staff that will get the job.

Which begs the question, if the Cowboys hire either Moore or Nussmeier, what is changing on the offense? Moore is a Linehan disciple, Nussmeier worked with Garrett mentor Nick Saban and was hired by Garrett last year.

What’s more, the talk is also that Garrett will be calling the plays on game day with one of these coaches running the offense.

So what changes if almost all of the pieces remain the same?

The answers will come and no one knows how good, or different, the offense will look in 2019. We also can’t determine if Nussmeier or Moore will be an improvement over Linehan. They’ll be time to delve into what kind of coordinator either coach would be, but for now, they are the likeliest options.

The Dallas Cowboys will soon have a new offensive coordinator and he will come from inside the organization, get ready for that eventuality. And the reaction that will come with it.
 

NoDak

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I like the idea of Kitna at QB Coach. Moore at OC...fuck no. He doesn't have any experience, and he sucked ass as a QB at the pro level.

I'm hoping that they bring someone in from the outside.
I understand the experience angle, but his success as a QB at the pro level has absolutely zero bearing on whether he'd be a good coach or not.
 

Cotton

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I haven't heard any talk of a Garrett extension in a while. If Jerry is sending him into 2019 without an extension, and Garrett wants to sink or swim by being back in the drivers seat of the offense, with two minions in Kitna and Moore who won't question him, then fuck it, let's do it.
Pretty much dead on how I feel about it. Now, if we promote Moore to OC and extend Garrett, I will be furious and just about done with this team.
 

Rev

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Pretty much dead on how I feel about it. Now, if we promote Moore to OC and extend Garrett, I will be furious and just about done with this team.
Garrett extension will be comimg on Super Bowl weekend.
 

mcnuttz

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L.T. Fan

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Sucking as a player is pretty irrelevant, and having no experience isn't necessarily a deathknell.... every successful OC has "no experience" doing it at some point. Additionally, the Cowboys have lots of guys who do have experience on the offensive staff, including Garrett and Nussmeier.

What is disconcerting and what makes it a horrible idea, IMO, is that he hasn't shown proficiency at QB coach. He hasn't mastered the role he had, so why would we think he's better with a promotion? Oh, because the QB likes him.

And probably because the handful of actual OC upgrades we reached out to, turned us down.

Well, my only conceptualization of the Garrett regime working out was to get an innovative new OC with new ideas who could springboard us to the next level. So far that seems like a whiff.
The primary reason Moore hasn’t translated the Quarterback skills to the field at the pro level is because he isn’t physically endowed with arm strength and a powerful body. If he had those essentials he would probably be a top notch pro prospect. As to his QB. Coaching tenure, several have indicated he has had more to do with Prescott’s development.than anyone. Prescott isn’t a well honed QB by any stretch of the imagination but Prescott started his role with zero experience as a pro and after a couple years of playing contributed to a substantial elevation of the Cowboys status in the NFL. I am more positive than most about Moore’s football knowledge but I think he is the only hope to making a difference in the Dallas schemes short of hiring someone else from the outside and hoping they can create a new look.
 

Cowboysrock55

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The primary reason Moore hasn’t translated the Quarterback skills to the field at the pro level is because he isn’t physically endowed with arm strength and a powerful body. If he had those essentials he would probably be a top notch pro prospect. As to his QB. Coaching tenure, several have indicated he has had more to do with Prescott’s development.than anyone. Prescott isn’t a well honed QB by any stretch of the imagination but Prescott started his role with zero experience as a pro and after a couple years of playing contributed to a substantial elevation of the Cowboys status in the NFL. I am more positive than most about Moore’s football knowledge but I think he is the only hope to making a difference in the Dallas schemes short of hiring someone else from the outside and hoping they can create a new look.
Like I've said, Dak improved in a number of areas as the season went on. His fumbles and sacks also dropped towards the end of the season. I know Cooper was a big part of all of that but I don't think it's fair to claim Moore did nothing. And like you mentioned, I think he was a big help during his rookie season. We may have all written Moore off prematurely because of his shitty career, lack of coaching experience and frankly his awkward nature.
 

ravidubey

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Pretty much dead on how I feel about it. Now, if we promote Moore to OC and extend Garrett, I will be furious and just about done with this team.
I’ve had to come to grips with the imminent reality of this.

We cant rely on coaching improvement, so it’s got to come from young or new players like LVE, Smith, Cooper, and maybe Gregory.

Elliott is almost done. Human beings weren’t meant to take the punishment he’s taken since college. After so many unimaginative rammings into the heart of the defense and you could see the lack of burst.

We need help at RB, but the Jones’ just look at Elliott’s pedigree and laugh off such thoughts. It’s stupid on many levels not the least of which is injury insurance for a team building around running the football.
 

Cujo

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I’ve had to come to grips with the imminent reality of this.

We cant rely on coaching improvement, so it’s got to come from young or new players like LVE, Smith, Cooper, and maybe Gregory.

Elliott is almost done. Human beings weren’t meant to take the punishment he’s taken since college. After so many unimaginative rammings into the heart of the defense and you could see the lack of burst.

We need help at RB, but the Jones’ just look at Elliott’s pedigree and laugh off such thoughts. It’s stupid on many levels not the least of which is injury insurance for a team building around running the football.
I think it's a little early on Elliot's demise. He just led the league in rushing with far less help than he had 2 years ago. I do agree that his carries need to be reduced. 250 would be nice but I suspect they'll run him into the ground but not before giving him a fat second contract.
 
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