Dallas Cowboys are betting on coaching continuity in 2022 - Blogging The Boys
Despite winning the NFC East and finishing 12-5 during the regular season, 2021 left a sour taste in the mouths of Dallas Cowboys supporters. Against the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs, they lost their composure. Undoubtedly, there are concerns about 2022 given that the roster was regarded as one of the most talented in recent memory. There were some significant player changes, but one development caught everyone off guard. The coaching staff was retained almost entirely. We are currently waiting to see if that specific wager will succeed or fail.
The only noteworthy change to the staff was the hiring of Robert Prince in favor of wide receivers coach Adam Henry. Otherwise, Mike McCarthy maintained the status quo. Jerry and Stephen Jones seem to be deferring to him in making decisions on his staff, therefore it looks that he made this choice. When things are going well, it makes sense to maintain the same coaching style year after year. That, however, only functions well when the coaches are executing their jobs well. Significant issues are raised by the apparent lack of preparation for the wild card game in January.
The Joneses' choice of the head coach is where it all begins. Even though Dak Prescott returned after having his 2021 season ended by a devastating ankle injury, Mike McCarthy undoubtedly made improvements from his first season to the second. He was still the most crucial component of the offense after returning from rehab and then experiencing a calf strain that seemed to hurt him in the final stretch. McCarthy is currently in the midst of what is viewed as a make-or-break season. His trust in his team will be put to the test.
In Jason Garrett's final season with the team, Kellen Moore was elevated to take Scott Linehan's place as offensive coordinator. It was thought that Moore would be more innovative and open the offense up. It looks that McCarthy anticipated the same thing when he chose to keep Moore. It doesn't appear to be the situation at this time. The years 2020 and 2021 both got off to a fast start. Prescott's serious injury undoubtedly wrecked 2020. His calf strain from last season's game against the New England Patriots had a less severe but still discernible impact. Despite the fact that Ezekiel Elliott missed the majority of the season due to a PCL injury, the club continued to prioritize running the ball. Tony Pollard was still not used enough. At this time, A extremely unreliable receiving group is present in Prescott. Amari Cooper was given away for little to nothing, and Michael Gallup, who is recuperating from a terrible injury of his own, is anticipated to miss several games. The lone free agent to join the corps so far is James Washington. The organization is counting on third-round rookie Jalen Tolbert to take over as a starter right away, but things don't always work out as planned. Dalton Schultz, the starting tight end, was tagged and now intends to skip the last week of OTAs out of irritation at not having secured a long-term contract. The lack of depth at tight end and wide receiver is uninspiring.
Meanwhile, the loss of starters La'el Collins and Connor Williams has significantly changed the offensive line. At right tackle, Terence Steele is anticipated to take Collins' job. His 2017 performance demonstrated significant growth for the 2020 UDFA. How he will hold up over the course of a season is yet unknown. Tyler Smith, a rookie, will now play left guard instead of tackle, which was his position in college. It's risky to do that when making the transition to the pros. Tyron Smith, to his left, is still among the league's top left tackles when healthy. He has suffered with that for years, and since 2015, he has not begun a whole season.
The offensive coaching staff has a mountain of problems to solve. On the other side of the ball, things are different, but still fraught with potential problems.
Despite rumors that other teams are interested in hiring Dan Quinn as their head coach, Quinn is staying on as the defensive coordinator. That benefits the squad because he gave a significantly better performance the previous year and is even seen as McCarthy's possible successor in the event of his dismissal. However, his success was somewhat deceptive. The Cowboys had the biggest margin in the league thanks to their reliance on turnovers. It is practically hard to perform at that level. Simply put, there is too much chance involved. The squad should have a significant regression to the mean, which indicates that they must strengthen their fundamental defensive skills. Those were occasionally dubious, especially when playing against the run.
Quinn profited from a great year of talent development as well. The main change was the signing of Micah Parsons, who was a strong player right away. He simply produced plays whether he was lining up as an edge rusher or working from his nominal position as a linebacker. Despite having only a part-time job, he finished sixth in sacks for the year. Osa Odighizuwa, who went a little unnoticed, also had a successful first season. For a change, Dallas' frugal approach to free agency paid dividends with the signings of Jayron Kearse, The Cowboys now have the best safety group we have seen in a long time thanks to the additions of Malik Hooker and Damontae Kazee. Kearse and Hooker were wisely re-signed, but Kazee has left. Trevon Diggs also contributed significantly to that turnover margin in his second season, leading the league in interceptions.
When the talks to bring defensive end Randy Gregory back fell through, the defense suffered a similar loss to the offense. Sam Williams has a lot of promise, but it is unrealistic to expect him to perform at the level required to succeed Gregory right away. Dante Fowler was added as a free agent mainly as a precaution.
Quinn and his staff must improve the defense's performance and make it less dependent on taking the ball away from opponents to stop them. It is hoped that a second season with the same coaches will be profitable.
Both the offense and the defense are going to play that way. Failure is not assured. After what transpired against the 49ers, it is obvious that the club needs to make adjustments. The Cowboys are taking a chance on the same coaches' ability to get better. That is by no means a sure thing.