The news was announced Sunday by NFL Network that Kellen Moore will not return to the Dallas Cowboys for a fifth year as offensive coordinator. This latest move by Jerry Jones is another example of the same bandaid this franchise continues to place over huge gashes. They usually fail to get ahead of the curve and address the real issue. Jones usually holds on to particular coaches too long, and Moore figured to be one of those until Sunday.
All we’ve heard from Dallas the past couple of years is about how loved Moore is within the organization and how they didn’t want to let him go. Moore had interest from other teams last offseason, following a year where the Cowboys’ offense finished as the No. 1 offense in the NFL. This year, they finished the season ranked 11th in yards and fourth in points per game. But Dak Prescott missed five games, and the offensive play selection was reeled in while Cooper Rush filled in.
While Moore’s playcalling could be questionable at times, escorting him out of the building isn’t going to fix the bigger issues. Don’t get it twisted; this “mutual agreement” talk is crap. The Cowboys’ former backup quarterback feels like the scapegoat for the current QB and head coach combination. Jerry felt a change needed to be made and likely didn’t think Moore was ready to be a head coach. And he can’t get rid of Prescott without hurting the team too much financially just yet, so Moore drew the short straw. Or did he?
Bigger and better
Monday morning news broke that Moore was expected to be heading to Los Angeles to take over play-calling duties for the Chargers. His play selection may not always be the best, but being limited at the QB position makes a huge difference. Moore is going from coaching a fringe top 10-12 QB in Prescott to a player that some would call top five already in Justin Herbert. So, maybe it was Moore who spurned Jones and the ‘Boys after all. I’m still not buying the mutual agreement to part ways nonsense. Break-ups of any kind are rarely mutual; 50/50 splits down the middle.
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What’s next in Dallas?
Let’s face facts about the situation in Big D. Mike McCarthy is just another guy at head coach without an all-time great QB to carry him. The fact that many still question what he actually does after three years of “running” the team speaks volumes. The Super Bowl-winning coach is just another one of Jerry’s coaches that won’t push back too much, especially publicly.
That’s all we’ve seen in Dallas for almost 30 years. After the Jimmy Johnson experience, Jones has stayed away from hiring strong-minded coaches that will do things their way. Now we’re at the point where Jones is parting ways with coordinators because the QB can’t make passes consistently and folds in big moments. Sure, Moore called the plays, but he didn’t make one errant throw this year or pile up 15 interceptions.
However, things went down between Moore, Jones, and McCarthy, it’s likely to be a blessing in disguise. The Chargers aren’t the best-run organization in the league by any means and have their own issues. But Moore will no longer have to deal with Jones’ meddling, Prescott’s limitations, and McCarthy’s….well, whatever he does in Dallas. Now the Cowboys have a coaching vacancy to fill. Maybe they can slide Rush over to OC, similar to how they did with Moore. That sounds like the Jerry Jones thing to do.
