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Photo Courtesy: Matt Pearce
By DaVince “Dino” Wright
Season Report Card
I can still smell the barbeque on the grill at my dad’s house while getting ready for the playoffs. Every year since the “Curse of Jimmy Johnson”, Dallas has been living in its glory of days of past. My dad would walk out of his back door and over to the most raggediest barbeque grill in the world. While lifting up the bent-up door to turn over his meat he would say, “Son, you want to know why I never got a new grill?”. “This is my grill, and it will cook just like any other grill in the world!” It never made sense to me. Cowboys owner/president and general manager Jerry Jones can do whatever he wants to do with his team. Dallas is in a Super Bowl drought because of the iron claw that Jerry has over his team. Dallas went 7-10 overall and 2-7 at home this season. The season was a wash ever since starting quarterback Dak Prescott went down with a season ending injury that left the team in turmoil. The running game was null-and-void, the offensive and defensive line went missing and play calling was so bad that the head coach was let go and the offensive coordinator was promoted and didn’t call a play last season. This season was one to forget about and looking to next year is at best foggy!
Season Grade: D-
What’s Happened?
The Dallas Cowboys failed to get a veteran running back, offensive lineman and free safety in the off season. Owner Jerry Jones shared that he was all in for the upcoming season. He brought back Ezekiell Elliott and a a few other former Cowboy players to make some type of run this season. Starting quarterback Dak Prescott got his extension and wideout CeeDee Lamb was signed to a longterm deal as well. The problem started when no one had a clue on how to make adjustments while proven veterans sat out this year. Dallas needed all of the help in the world and Jerry did nothing while allowing the NFL trade deadline to come and go. Injuries depleted the team in the middle of the season and they continued to struggle subsequently leading to the dismissal of former head coach Mike McCarthy. Dallas needs a general manager or an outside consultant that understands player personnel… You know like Jimmy Johnson!
What’s Next?
The Dallas Cowboys hired offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as the 11th coach in team history. He’s been in coaching for 20 years. He coached for 9 NFL teams (Rams, Chiefs, Redskins, Chargers, Jets, Colts, Seahawks, Jaguars and Cowboys) and 3 college programs (Syracuse, USC and Georgia). He has coached as an offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and analyst. Schottenheimer hired Matt Eberflus as his defensive coordinator. Matt Eberflus spent the past 2 years as the Chicago Bears head coach. Keep in mind that Eberflus was with the Cowboys from 2011-2017 as a linebackers coach. Schottenheimer also added Nick Sorensen to his staff as the special teams coordinator from the San Francisco 49ers. Schootenheimer and Sorensen coached together in Seattle and Jacksonville. If we give Schottenheimer a chance, he might pull it off. It’s too soon to judge him because he hasn’t coached one game yet. However, I do see that he’s surrounding himself with fresh faces and proven football coaches.
The Draft
The Cowboys will need to address some key positions in the upcoming draft. They need a defensive tackle, corner back, safety, running back and a couple of offensive linemen that can make an immediate impact and make some plays. Dallas has a great core but they’re missing some pieces. Free agency will be a start. Getting proven veterans (guys that can lead) will give Dallas a chance to improve and compete in the NFC East next season. Dallas will need to move some of those draft picks from the past few seasons and bring in veteran talent.
The Future
The Cowboys will have the same opportunity that the other 31 teams have to make their team better. First things first, Dallas will need to get a general manager to bring in the talent they need. Dallas has hired and fired 10 head coaches since Tom Landry and the only coach that made this organization noteworthy was Jimmy Johnson. In 1994, the Dallas Cowboys won back-to-back NFL championships. A dynasty in the making! Then Jerry Jones did an unthinkable by firing Jimmy Johnson! Why? Winning wasn’t enough. Jerry wanted the credit too! Since that day the Cowboys have been cursed. No more Super Bowls after the 1995 season. Just decades of heartbreak and mediocrity. Coaches have come and gone but the shadow of Jimmy’s departure has cast a dark cloud over the organization. Legend has it that the football gods have cursed Jerry’s ego and the only way to lift the curse is to bring Jimmy Johnson back in some capacity to make decisions and get this team back where they once were… “America’s Team!”