Watkins: Cowboys make switch in war room

Cowboys make switch in war room

By Calvin Watkins | January 10, 2014 12:00:37 PM PST

For the first time since 2008, somebody else will put together the Dallas Cowboys' NFL draft board.

Will McClay, the assistant director of player personnel, will handle those duties this spring.

Tom Ciskowski, the director of scouting, had produced the board the past few years but things moved into a different direction starting last year.

McClay and Ciskowski split between handling pro and college duties. Ciskowski had been in charge of pro and college scouting, but the Cowboys wanted him to concentrate more on the college game.

Ciskowski is still a valued member of the front office and last year interviewed for the then-vacant general manager position in Indianapolis that eventually went to Ryan Grigson.

McClay was the former head coach of the Dallas Desperados Arena Football League team, owned by Jerry Jones from 2004-08. McClay was also the assistant director of pro scouting for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011 before returning to the Cowboys in the player personnel department.

McClay is one of a few African-Americans in NFL front offices that will either finalize or assist in putting together NFL draft boards for perspective teams. Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore), Doug Whaley (Buffalo), Rick Smith (Houston), Marc Ross (New York Giants) and Ray Farmer (Cleveland) are some African-Americans in front office positions who handle draft boards in some fashion.

Iamtdg said:

McClay was the former head coach of the Dallas Desperados Arena Football League team, owned by Jerry Jones from 2004-08. McClay was also the assistant director of pro scouting for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011 before returning to the Cowboys in the player personnel department.

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Cronyism?

lostxn said:

Cronyism?

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The entire NFL is littered with it.

Makes you wonder a bit what is the real reason behind the change.

boozeman said:

The entire NFL is littered with it.

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All business and government is full of it as well.

L.T. Fan said:

All business and government is full of it as well.

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Make that any organization run by human beings.

I was led to believe that Ciskowski was the real power behind the throne. This then obviously means he simply wants another layer in front of his ruse.

Genghis Khan said:

I was led to believe that Ciskowski was the real power behind the throne. This then obviously means he simply wants another layer in front of his ruse.

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You fell for that?

boozeman said:

You fell for that?

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Hey when you encounter better fans than you, you listen.

If this cuts out the bullshit of guys like Warford not even being on our board I'm all for it.

jsmith6919 said:

If this cuts out the bullshit of guys like Warford not even being on our board I'm all for it.

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I thought the consensus was no wikey Watford because of the zone blocking scheme.

ravidubey said:

Make that any organization run by human beings.

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I don't see it in organizations like the Salvation Army for instance.

Jerry Jones offseason plan resides with two

January, 10, 2014


By Calvin Watkins/ESPNDallas.com

It's easy to blame Jerry Jones, the Cowboys' owner/general manager, for the woes of the franchise.

Yes, the Cowboys are not the Washington Redskins, who had to get rid of a two-time Super Bowl winning coach because he couldn't get along with his franchise quarterback.

The Cowboys are not the Houston Texans, coming off a two-win season and despite a talented group, will have the No. 1 overall pick of the May NFL draft.

Jones isn't running the Cleveland Browns, which fired the coach after one season and had its owner take a question that the Three Stooges weren't running the team.

It could be worse here in Dallas, but Jones is trying to make sure it doesn't get that way.

There are two men Jones is asking to elevate the Cowboys in 2014 in Will McClay, assistant director of player personnel and Tom Ciskowski, director of scouting.

McClay is in charge of finding pro players in free agency, evaluating the current roster, which is badly in need of an overhaul on defense, but salary cap restrictions make that difficult to do. And more importantly, McClay takes over this year as putting the draft board together.

Ciskowski provides McClay and Jones with all the information necessary to make the draft selections.

Jones trusts these men with helping him make the final decisions. During the 2013 season, McClay was the point man in securing several players in free agency when injuries and poor play forced the Cowboys to look elsewhere for help.

McClay found George Selvie and Nick Hayden, two defensive linemen who were projected backups, emerge as starters once injuries to Jay Ratliff and Anthony Spencer were discovered.

Jones along with his son, vice president of player personnel Stephen Jones, believe in what McClay and his staff are doing. The Cowboys have no choice because the salary cap is holding the Cowboys back from making an impact in free agency.

There will be hard choices with the 53-man roster this offseason, with the biggest decision coming on defensive end DeMarcus Ware. McClay's group, in consultation with the coaching staff, have to decide if Ware worth keeping another season or should he be asked to take a pay cut and become a pass-rush specialist.

Ware has said he won't take a pay cut, and knowing this, the front office is forced to either restructure his contract to reduce his cap numbers or let him go.

If McClay recommends Ware should play for somebody else, and he won't be along in his thinking, he should have another alternative at defensive end in free agency.

McClay and Ciskowski must solve a draft process that's haggard. The Cowboys traded down in the first round last year so San Francisco could draft a safety, Eric Reid, whom the Cowboys didn't value as a first-rounder. The Cowboys drafted center Travis Frederick in the first round, which was a positive move seeing how well he played in 2013.

The problem with the draft is Jones. The owner listens to his coaches, which is his right, but sometimes, the owner needs to let the personnel people, namely Ciskowski and now McClay have a bigger say in the war room.

It was defensive line coach Rod Marinelli's voice Jones heard the most on draft night as a reason why a defensive lineman wasn't taken in the first round. A defensive lineman wasn't picked in the second round either, and the Cowboys went with tight end Gavin Escobar, a pass catching one at that, who struggled to block on a consistent basis.

The Cowboys said Escobar would be used in two-tight end sets during the season, but that was quickly erased as the season progressed. Escobar has talent but it could go to waste in 2014 if the Cowboys don't get him on the field regularly.

Jones has to upgrade the roster through the draft and there are needs along the defensive line, linebacker, receiver and secondary.

Whatever Jones decides to do, Ciskowski and McClay will have a major hand in what the Cowboys need to fix this offseason.

It was defensive line coach Rod Marinelli's voice Jones heard the most on draft night as a reason why a defensive lineman wasn't taken in the first round. A defensive lineman wasn't picked in the second round either, and the Cowboys went with tight end Gavin Escobar, a pass catching one at that, who struggled to block on a consistent basis.

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Makes sense. Why would the DL coach want a DL in the first or second round when he can get guys like Selvie and Hayden instead?

VA Cowboy said:

Makes sense. Why would the DL coach want a DL in the first or second round when he can get guys like Selvie and Hayden instead?

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right. WTF is that?

boozeman said:

I thought the consensus was no wikey Watford because of the zone blocking scheme.

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No, I remember him being "in the box". I think it was off the field stuff.

So someone explain this to me cause my brain isn't working right now. Ciskowski is head of college scouting still, but we're going to ask our head of pro scouting to put together our college draft board?

lolwut

Is McClay that good that he's being asked to put together our board? Last time I looked, there are no
wild success stories of personnel geniuses coming from the Arena ranks. Did I miss something?

p1_ said:

Is McClay that good that he's being asked to put together our board? Last time I looked, there are no
wild success stories of personnel geniuses coming from the Arena ranks. Did I miss something?

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Our success at picking up pro talent has risen tremendously since he has come on board. I don't really understand why the head of pro scouting is in charge of the college draft board instead of the head of college scouting, but hopefully he can improve our drafts as well. I would like to know his interest in 2nd round TEs and injured Div III defensive backs with 11 toes