How much will Cowboys' offense change under Mike McCarthy? Dak Prescott weighs in

PHOENIX — Change is coming in Dallas.

The change will target the Dallas Cowboys' offense, a unit without Kellen Moore in the house for the first time in seven seasons.

How much will the Cowboys' system change as head coach Mike McCarthy takes over play-calling?

“Right now, Mike told me [about] 20-30% change,” quarterback Dak Prescott told Yahoo Sports from Phoenix during Super Bowl week. “I think if anything, it’s things that need to be changed.

“It’s great to dial in, fix some things, get sharper and crisper. I’m excited.”

The Cowboys and Moore announced a “mutual parting of ways” on Jan. 29, less than 24 hours before the Los Angeles Chargers announced they had hired Moore to coordinate their offense and develop talented third-year quarterback Justin Herbert.

The marriage between Moore and the Cowboys had been consistently productive. Dallas ranked top-6 in scoring in three of Moore’s four years as coordinator. But efficiency and communication began to dip last season, inconsistencies between Prescott and his receivers’ defensive diagnoses contributing to Prescott’s league-high 15 regular-season interceptions. In the Cowboys’ 19-12 divisional round playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Prescott threw two interceptions to one touchdown. Dallas’ run game was held to 76 yards.

The Cowboys' defense stifled the 49ers' attack but couldn’t surmount the lack of complementary football.

So the Cowboys seek a different voice, an at least partially different scheme and some different offensive philosophies. Cowboys team owner/general manager Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones attributed Moore’s departure to the philosophical differences between McCarthy and Moore.

Should an offense attack opponents with deep, extended routes to stretch defenders vertically? Would quicker short and intermediate passers increase the success rate? How often and in what scenarios should receivers run option routes, perhaps stressing a defender more acutely but also risking the receiver interpret defensive cues differently than the quarterback who needs to anticipate the throw?

The Cowboys will attack these questions in the coming months.

How much is changing for Cowboys, Prescott and Moore?

The Cowboys' front office will also likely look to upgrade Prescott’s receiving corps a year after trading top wideout Amari Cooper (and his $20 million salary) to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick.

Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb posted 1,359 yards and nine touchdowns in his first season as a true No. 1 receiver. But the Cowboys’ pass-catching corps otherwise struggled, as fifth-year receiver Michael Gallup was unable to return smoothly from an ACL tear while third-round rookie Jalen Tolbert played just 16% of offensive snaps and caught two passes for 12 yards.

Decisions face the Cowboys' front office on multiple offensive starters as Pro Bowl running back Tony Pollard hits free agency, franchise-tagged tight end Dalton Schultz is likely to command more on the open market than Dallas hopes to pay, and veteran running back Ezekiel Elliott enters his first year with zero guaranteed salary. A pay cut is a near certainty should Elliott desire to stay with the Cowboys. Even with a pay cut, his return is no sure deal.

Prescott acknowledged the personal disappointment to part with Moore for the first time in his seven professional years. Moore was integral to Prescott’s development from a 2016 fourth-round draft selection. When the Cowboys drafted Prescott, Moore was Tony Romo’s backup quarterback.

Both Romo and Moore suffered training camp injuries, and Prescott soon catapulted from a fourth-string QB (Jameill Showers, a quarterback who would eventually be converted to safety, was third) in training camp to season-long starter in a matter of weeks.

Alongside Prescott in the quarterbacks room in 2016 and 2017, Moore remained a guiding voice. So in 2018, Dallas promoted Moore in name to the role he had already been filling in practice: quarterbacks coach.

Moore was then promoted in 2019 to offensive coordinator, a role he held the past four seasons.

Now, Moore and Prescott chase their development in different cities, organizations and even conferences.

“When you lose a friend, you’re going to be upset, but that’s the nature of this business,” Prescott said. “When I say I’m upset he’s gone, it’s not that I’m upset about the future. It’s that when you’re a player, you have the relationship we’ve had, when he was a player. [I] watched his success and watched him grow into the coordinator that he is.

“I’m just as excited about our opportunity as I am for a new start for Kellen.”

Who will lead the Cowboys' offense in 2023?

Jerry Jones knows his team fronts a defense that is the Cowboys’ best in more than a decade. With defensive coordinator Dan Quinn returning to Dallas for a third season, Jones believes McCarthy has the freedom to dial in more closely on running and calling the offense.

“Frankly, I want Mike and Dak to join at the hip on the execution at quarterback,” Jerry Jones told Yahoo Sports from the Senior Bowl earlier this month, “Mike of course knows the personnel, knows [Dak], so picture if I had just interviewed him and he was coming in, how far ahead he is of making this thing really work.

“Knowing Dak and what he’s going to do, and knowing Mike, I think we’re definitely going to see positive, positive, just a lot of positive results.”

McCarthy promoted veteran coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, who spent 2022 as a consultant for the Cowboys, to offensive coordinator.

McCarthy’s first NFL opportunity came from Schottenheimer’s father, Marty, from 1993-96 with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brian Schottenheimer coordinated the New York Jets' offense from 2006-11, the then-St. Louis Rams' offense from 2012-14 and the Seattle Seahawks' offense from 2018-20. During Schottenheimer’s Seahawks stretch, with Russell Wilson at quarterback, Seattle ranked top-10 in scoring and top-five in passing touchdowns all three years.

“Sometimes change is good,” Prescott told Yahoo Sports. “I’m a big believer in change and I’m excited for Mike calling the plays. I’m excited for Schotty. I’m excited for just being able to dial into this offense and just really get it to where we want it to be.

“I’m excited as hell.”

Follow Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein