Cowboys News: Andy Reid vs Landry, OC possibilities, Dak+MM-Moore=?
Sunday’s news that Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore would not be returning in 2023 left Monday full of speculation about what happens now. While Moore has already landed a new gig in L.A., there are questions galore to be answered at The Star. Like, will head coach Mike McCarthy, in fact, call his own plays? If so, who’s the new OC (and what exactly will he do)? And most important… will it all work in bringing Dak Prescott and the Cowboys greater postseason success?
Meanwhile, the Cowboys send another man to the Pro Bowl Games, Micah Parsons calls out a Bengals defender for berating a teammate on camera, and a former Dallas assistant calls for the revisitation of the three-quarterback rule after Sunday’s injuries in Philadelphia. We’re tallying up the team’s salary cap overage, we’re flashing back to an overconfident Super Bowl XXX team, we’re mocking a new Cowboys cornerback, and we’re wondering what Stetson Bennett’s arrest in the Metroplex does to his draft stock. All that, plus the great Tom Landry gets passed on a pretty historic list. Here’s the News and Notes.
Kellen Moore departure from Cowboys means only Dak Prescott can save Mike McCarthy :: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Moore has been with Prescott, either as a teammate or a coach, since Dak came into the NFL in 2016. But Moore came from the Scott Linehan/Jason Garrett coaching tree, and his offense functioned fairly closely to the preferences of those two men. McCarthy knows he has to try something else, so he’s doing it himself. And he’ll likely need to pray it works.
Here's what Mike McCarthy taking over Cowboys play calling really means :: Cowboys Wire
McCarthy is basically starting from scratch on offense after the dismissals of several assistants who touch that side of the ball. He’ll need someone new to work closely with Dak Prescott as well as run almost every other position group. It appears, though, he’ll return to calling plays himself, a role he held- mostly with great statistical success- for most of his tenure in Green Bay.
7 candidates to replace Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore :: Blogging the Boys
McCarthy is expected to take over playcalling duties, but the team will still name an OC. Maybe Brian Schottenheimer, Lunda Wells, or Scott Tolzein, who are already in the building? There’s also Byron Leftwich, former McCarthy staffer Tom Clements, ex-Cowboys consultant Ben McAdoo, or McCarthy Project alum Frank Cignetti Jr.
Chargers hire Kellen Moore as OC, to face Cowboys in 2023 :: Cowboys Wire
The Chargers wasted no time in snatching up Moore to be their new offensive coordinator. He’ll take over a Justin Herbert-led unit that ranked third-best in passing yardage in 2022 but third-worst in rushing yards. The Cowboys will visit L.A. to face him in 2023.
Grading the Chargers' hiring of Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator :: Chargers Wire
Moore’s Dallas offenses- at their peak- consistently outperformed Joe Lombardi’s at theirs in L.A. The Chargers faithful take this as a sign that they’ll see an improvement next season. The fact that this hiring came together as quickly as it did shows how much trust the club has in Moore as a scheme builder; it’s early, but right now they’re calling it A-minus hire.
What the Dallas Cowboys can learn from the final teams :: A to Z Sports
The Cowboys can blame their own talent acquisition habits for why they weren’t playing on Championship Sunday. The Eagles and 49ers both went out and traded for top-tier talent (A.J. Brown and Christian McCaffrey); the Chiefs replaced Tyreek Hill with high-quality options like Juju Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Kadarius Toney. The Cowboys took a different approach, and it failed.
Cowboys’ Micah Parsons calls out Bengals’ Germaine Pratt for piling on Joseph Ossai :: The Landry Hat
The Bengals linebacker was caught on camera berating his teammate for the late hit that put the Chiefs within easy field-goal range in the final moments of Sunday’s AFC championship game. Parsons took to social media to admonish Pratt’s locker-room outburst, calling it “lame” in a tweet.
Chiefs’ Andy Reid passes Cowboys’ Tom Landry for No. 2 in NFL playoff wins :: Dallas Morning News
The man in the mustache has overtaken the man in the hat in career playoff victories. With Sunday’s dramatic finish, Reid notched his 21st postseason win; Landry ended his extraordinary coaching run with 20. The Chiefs skipper still trails Bill Belichick by 10 playoff wins.
NFL teams should again be allowed to dress 3 quarterbacks :: The 33rd Team
Watching Christian McCaffrey have to play wildcat quarterback while Brock Purdy was unable to throw in a high-profile conference championship setting should lead to a revisitation of the old three-quarterback rule, says former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt. “We’ve enlarged the practice squad, and we’ve loosened all those rules. Yet, the quarterback, the most important position on the team,” he noted, “they haven’t done anything with it. I guarantee you this will change.”
Cowboys center Tyler Biadasz added to NFC Pro Bowl roster :: Cowboys Wire
Biadasz will make his first Pro Bowl appearance, replacing the Eagles’ Jason Kelce in representing the NFC in Las Vegas. The count of Cowboys honored with a Pro Bowl nod this year is now eight, although Tony Pollard will sit out due to his ankle sprain and broken fibula.
Cowboys among 14 teams over projected 2023 salary cap of $224.8M :: Cowboys Wire
Right now the Cowboys are an estimated $5,303,002 over the 2023 spending limit. Teams have until 4 p.m. ET on March 15 to get under the $224.8 million figure.
Former Steelers LB recalls Cowboys' massive Super Bowl mistake as heavy favorites more than 25 years ago :: CBS Sports
Ex-Steelers linebacker Levon Kirkland believes the 1995 Cowboys, heavy 13.5-point favorites in Super Bowl XXX, came in cocky. “I think they thought, ‘We’re the Dallas Cowboys, we’re going to run over these guys.'” Behind the famed Triplets, Dallas gained just 64 yards after halftime, and it took two unlikely Larry Brown interceptions to seal the 27-17 win. “If we don’t turn the ball over, I think we win that game by at least two possessions,” Kirkland said.
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett arrested on public intoxication charge in Dallas, police say :: WFAA
The former walk-on and two-time national champ was thought to be a fourth-round draft pick before being arrested in Old East Dallas over the weekend. Glenn Smith, an ex-Cowboys scout, says Bennett’s public intoxication charge may drop him. “He’s a 5’10” guy, so you’re already going to have scouts start knocking him,” Smith said. “Now he’s out drinking ’til the world looks flat, now he’s out ’til 6 in the morning, now all of a sudden things start stacking up against him.”
2023 Mock Draft: Texans trade up to No. 1, three QBs land in the top 10 :: PFF
Cornerback will be an area of need for Dallas; if there isn’t a tempting wide receiver at No. 26, they could jump on Utah’s Clark Phillips III. He’s undersized at 5-foot-10 (often a dealbreaker for the Cowboys), but he has great instincts and is a master at baiting throws and jumping routes.
