Getty Image / Mike Ehrmann
While you were sleeping, the Dallas Cowboys began a bit of an overhaul as they parted ways with five assistant coaches.
According to reports, the Cowboys have fired the following five coaches: senior defensive assistant George Edwards, running backs coach Skip Peete, offensive line coach Joe Philbin, assistant defensive line coach Leon Lett, and assistant head coach Rob Davis.
The firings come after the Cowboys put up just 12 points in their loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round last weekend. Franchise quarterback Dak Prescott particularly struggled in the game, as he completed 23 of 27 passes for 206 yards, one touchdown, and two crucial interceptions.
Dak’s interceptions were a season-long issue, as he led the league with 15 picks despite missing five games due to injury. To make matters worse for the Cowboys, they lost running back Tony Pollard — who had a breakout season this year — to a broken leg.
Despite the litany of changes, though, head coach Mike McCarthy has kept his job, as has offensive coordinator Kellen Moore (who reportedly interviewed with the Panthers this week) and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn (who interviewed with the Cardinals). For now. As noted by ProFootballTalk, the sudden lack of movement surrounding Sean Payton’s hiring is, at the very least, coincidental.
As ProFootballTalk noted earlier in the week, the contracts had expired for all but four members of the coaching staff. But it’s still a firing, as a practical matter, to not offer them new contracts.
And it makes us wonder whether something else is going on behind the scenes. Something like owner Jerry Jones discreetly lining up the replacement for the head coach before firing the head coach, because Jones will fire the head coach only if he gets the replacement Jones wants. In unrelated (or not) developments, Sean Payton’s candidacy with the four teams that had expressed interest in his services seems to have become bogged down, by something.
Given Jones’ desire to win a Super Bowl in this final stage of his career, it certainly wouldn’t surprise anyone in the NFL world if he decided to make a play for Payton in an effort to fix Dak’s woes.
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