3 Reasons Why Continuity is the Best Approach for the Dallas Cowboys.
Cowboys Nation is divided on Jerry Jones’ decision to stay with Head Coach Mike McCarthy through the last year of his contract.
Alright, perhaps not quite in the centre. Is there a better way to respond given that the vast majority are furious?
The “heeeeere we gooooooo” sentiments are returning, which is why supporters are feeling tearful.
How could Jerry harm us in this way? “Yet another season without an NFC Championship Game appearance after three straight playoff exits!” -everyone who loves the Cowboys.
McCarthy is taking more arrows than Brandin Cooks has in his quiver on social media, and Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn is not safe from the air raid.
Most fans are shouting for the proverbial beheading of both play-callers, but they haven’t put down their torches and pitchforks long enough to think that sentence through.
You might not want to hear it, but the return of Mike McCarthy and the possible return of Dan Quinn are good things for this team.
I know I’m in the minority at the moment, but cooler heads always prevail, and continuity is the best recipe for the Cowboys to reach the ultimate goal in 2024.
It’s What’s Best For Dak Prescott
Instead of finishing as anticipated, Dak Prescott’s eighth season ended more like a Fourth of July puff of smoke from a broken Roman candle.
At this time last year, a lot was said about Prescott’s 2023 season.
For quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, the eighth year was THE year, and Prescott was set to follow in their footsteps.
That was the complete opposite of what happened over the first five weeks, but after the humiliating loss to the eventual top-seeded San Francisco 49ers by 32 points, things changed for the offence.
Dak and CeeDee Lamb were shot out of a rocket after that game as McCarthy made adjustments to his struggling offense.
Those adjustments catapulted Prescott into the MVP conversation, and Lamb into the Offensive Player of the Year consideration.
Prescott was dialed in, finishing the regular season with arguably the best performance of his career.
It call came crashing down in the Wildcard round, but it doesn’t erase what he accomplished with McCarthy in his first year as the play-caller.
There are some tweaks needed to beat heavy zone coverages, but there is a full offseason to incorporate those tweaks.
Dan Quinn is Still the Best Option
The amusing thing about those demanding Quinn be employed by another company is that they are unable to think of any better candidates than Al Harris or Joe Whitt Jr.
Please let me know if this makes sense.
You want to fire the guy who developed and guided his defence to set team records while individual players shattering venerable NFL records?
Yes, he also ordered a defence last week that produced the worst defensive effort the team has ever had in the postseason, but those two coordinators were both present.
If they were so much better and the season was on the line, don’t you think they would have called upstairs with a better plan on how to stop Green Bay?
The problem is that Quinn’s hands were tied as far as his personnel is concerned, and if we are being honest, that’s been the case all season.
Injuries are an unfortunate part of the job that coordinators have to navigate for every team, but Dallas lost some big names from that defense this season.
All-Pro Trevon Diggs was lost prior to Week 3 with a torn ACL suffered in practice.
Leighton Vander Esch was lost just a couple of weeks later to a neck injury that very well may end his career.
Losing Vander Esch wouldn’t have been so detrimental to the defense, but Dallas had already lost promising rookie DeMarvion Overshown to a torn ACL in the preseason.
Dallas remained thin at linebacker all season, eventually coming back to haunt them in the playoff loss.
The defense is made in Quinn’s image, and as the creator, he knows exactly what to do to remedy the ailments from 2023.
The Team is Too Close to Start Over
Attempting to start over with a new head coach and/or defensive coordinator is the worst possible thing the Cowboys could do.
The wound is still fresh, and fans would rather amputate than use a bandage and allow it to heal, but healing your wound instead of losing your leg is still the better option in the long run.
I already know what you’re going to say so let me jump out ahead of you with the common responses:
- “McCarthy and Quinn can’t make adjustments!”
- “Doing the same things and expecting different results is insanity!”
- “Jerry Jones only cares about the bottom line!”
- “Dak Prescott can’t perform in big games!”
Honestly, trying to respond to each of those comments is a story for another day, but I can tell you that all those things can be fixed.
This was a very uncharacteristic draft class from the Cowboys.
Uncharacteristic in the sense that they received minimal contributions.
The club is badly impacted when Will McClay and his scouting department miss since they are so good at identifying talent to assist right away.
That is unlikely to occur twice in a row, and in 2024, there will be two draft classes that virtually have an impact all at once.
Cowboys Nation, unwind.
Feel free to express your anger, but keep in mind that this is the best path to the team winning the Lombardi Trophy in 2024, in addition to the fact that there is nothing you can do about it.
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