David Moore, a SportsDay Cowboys insider, recently talked to Barry Horn and Kevin Sherrington on the podcast called SportsDayDFW’s ‘Ballzy’ about the Cowboys coaching staff, performance and other things. We’ prepared the best bits for you, enjoy!
Wild Card/Playoffs Possibility
Moore: ‘The NFC is really wide open at the moment but that three-game losing streak where they lost three games by 20 or more points in each game really plummeted them to a spot where you have to have a lot work in your favor.’
Jason Garrett & the Coaching staff to be sacked?
Sherrington: ’If this team goes 10-6, my suggestion is no one will get fired and Rod Marinelli will not quit because he’s 800 years old. What do you think?’
Moore: ‘I find it highly unlikely there will be any significant changes on the coaching staff coming off this season. If that [three-game losing streak] trend had continued, I would’ve been flabbergasted if they hadn’t made a change at end of the season. But what they have done now is here’s a team that was outscored 72-0 in the second half of that three-game losing streak and now in two games, they’ve outscored opponents 41-7.’
‘The way you saw the Cowboys respond and remain somewhat relevant as far as a postseason berth is concerned I think is enough for the ownership to say OK. This team did not quit on the coaching staff … they righted the ship. Let’s just bank on good health next year, add the key pieces we feel we need to add in the offseason and feel we should be running.
‘I just don’t think Jason Garrett is on the verge of going anywhere anytime soon. So you can argue what’s wrong with a couple of outstanding coordinators who are deep into their careers and really don’t have the ambition or drive to actively seek a head coaching job anymore?’
Marinelli/Linehan to leave?
Moore: ‘I’d argue a lot of times outstanding coordinators are miscast as a head coach, [told it’s the] logical next step on the ladder, and then they take that step, aren’t nearly as effective as they were as coordinators. And they don’t enjoy it much either but it’s something you have to do. Marinelli and Linehan have both been head coaches in this league, were not particularly successful and love being coordinators. I think it’s a good fit for this staff up at the top.’
Sherrington: ‘[Cowboys linebackers coach] Matt Eberflus is considered the most attractive.’
Moore: ’He’s the most attractive. I always assume if Rod Marinelli goes, I’d expect Matt Eberflus to be the coordinator. … But if something happens with Garrett, it’s not like you’re going to say ‘Let’s put Eberflus at the top of the team.’
‘You have to see when these individuals were installed as head coaches and what their background was at that moment. When Jason Garrett was installed as head coach of the Cowboys, it was the first time he’d been a head coach in his career. He was one of the younger head coaches in the league. If you’re in that position, are you going to bring in a bunch of guys your age… for a survival of the fittest, where a bunch of guys are lobbying and jockeying to be your successor?
‘You need guys who have been in this league longer. If you replace Linehan and Marinelli [now], then I think you’d see Garrett go with younger up-and-coming guys. But he’s at a different stage now of his career where I think it’s easier to do.’
About Cowboys sacks
Moore: ‘Especially when it starts getting away from you late and teams are going to take chances and look down the field. There are a lot of games where neither team has a sack but suddenly one team’s up with 10 minutes to go by 4 or 5 points and you see a couple sacks to end the game. You didn’t even have that in this once.
‘One of the big questions about this team coming into this year was the defensive line: Would it be able to put any pressure? It didn’t look like they had anyone who’d be able to create pressure. And now they’ve developed two guys who are outstanding pressure guys and that’s element of the Cowboys you didn’t think you’d have. It’s shown itself over the course of the season, but again, not enough to put them in position to where they should feel good about their playoff chances.’
Moore provided us with an interesting insight into the Cowboys organization. We have to say thanks for that! Fight until the end Cowboys!
