The coaching carousel keeps spinning around the league, as Kellen Moore has had his chat with the Eagles brass and Cowboys Nation waits to hear what happened. In Dallas, the club has found its defensive line coach, bringing another of Dan Quinn’s former pupils onto the payroll.
In other news, we’re looking for bright spots in the 2020 season, breaking down the Xs and Os of Quinn’s preferred defensive scheme, sizing up the Cowboys cornerbacks about to hit free agency and talking cap space. There’s also big question marks all of a sudden regarding the draft given that there will be no scouting combine; how will that affect the Cowboys’ big board? With news of Philip Rivers retiring, we’ve also got a Cowboys connection to the prolific passer… as well as how the greatest quarterback in Dallas history is now part of the same trivia answer as newly-inaugurated US president Joe Biden. News and Notes, coming right up.
Report: Cowboys to hire Aden Durde as DL coach :: Cowboys Wire
Link Aden Durde joins new secondary coach Joe Whitt, Jr. in a reunion with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. The 41-year old was Atlanta’s outside linebackers coach; he’ll now serve as the Cowboys’ defensive line coach.
Cowboys initially carry over $25 million of unspent cap space into 2021 :: Cowboys Wire
Link The Cowboys have some wheeling and dealing to do when it comes to a new contract for their franchise quarterback. As it stands right now, they won’t be able to afford another Dak Prescott franchise tag.
Film room: Strengths and weaknesses of Cowboys DC Dan Quinn’s base defense :: Dallas Morning News
Link There’s a lot to learn when it comes to the defensive schemes that new coordinator Dan Quinn likes to employ. John Owning gives a primer of Quinn’s particular Cover 3 technique, but a few aspects that Cowboys fans will appreciate: it allows defenders to play faster and more physical, it minimizes big plays and forces long drives, and it’s typically very strong against the run.
Cowboys OC Kellen Moore interviewed with Eagles, what’s next? :: Cowboys Wire
Link Kellen Moore has spent the last two seasons as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator. Now that he’s interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles’ head coaching vacancy, K.D. Drummond breaks down what’s next if Moore leaves, including possible OC candidates that are currently within the organization.
Cowboys 2021 free agent carousel: A look at the cornerbacks :: Blogging the Boys
Link Among the many decisions facing the Cowboys’ new defensive coaching staff is what to do in the secondary. Three of the club’s cornerbacks are set to hit free agency. Do a compare-and-contrast on Jourdan Lewis, Chidobe Awuzie, and C. J. Goodwin to see who’s worth keeping, and who may be hitting the road.
On Inauguration Day, Cowboys executive orders, promise made to fans ring hollow :: Cowboys Wire
Link Which is more important to Jerry and Stephen Jones: money or winning football games? Ben Grimaldi dives into how the Cowboys organization needs to fulfill its promises of building a better roster to compete instead of bragging about leading in attendance during a pandemic.
Joe Biden’s University of Delaware has produced a president and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback :: USA Today
Link The list of colleges which can count both a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and a US president among their alumni is a short one, just five entries. But the answer to this trivia question has a Cowboys connection. Along with Delaware (Biden and Joe Flacco), the others are Michigan (Gerald Ford and Tom Brady), Miami of Ohio (Benjamin Harrison and Ben Roethlisberger), Stanford (Herbert Hoover, Jim Plunkett, and John Elway) and the US Naval Academy (Jimmy Carter and Roger Staubach).
Mailbag: Combine Changes Affecting The Draft? :: The Mothership
Link With the annual scouting combine in Indianapolis scrapped for 2021, team writer David Helman is worried about the Cowboys scouting department’s ability to evaluate draft talent. At least it’s a level playing field among all 32 teams, but look for potentially huge fluctuations in how any one player is graded, given how no team will have seen him in person.
Cowboys’ positives in 2020 included rookies, Dalton Schultz and others :: ESPN
Link Todd Archer says “you might need to squint a little,” but there were some bright spots to the Cowboys’ 2020 campaign. He points to the play of the promising rookie class, tight end Dalton Schultz, safety Donovan Wilson, Randy Gregory, the young offensive linemen who stepped up when needed, and- in a telling statement about the rest of the roster- punter Hunter Niswander.
Top 10 quarterbacks to never win a Super Bowl: Where does Philip Rivers rank? :: NFL.com
Link Upon the news that Philip Rivers is retiring from football, talk quickly turned to the best quarterbacks to have never won a Super Bowl. At NFL.com, there’s a list for that. But Cowboys fans can save their scrolling finger; Tony Romo is not on it. The Top 10 may not have rings, but it’s pretty elite company; Rivers joins Michael Vick, Steve McNair, Warren Moon, Fran Tarkenton, Jim Kelly, and- of course, Dan Marino.
Sobering stat shows Cowboys’ woes versus now-retired Philip Rivers :: RJ Ochoa (Twitter)
The Dallas Cowboys never defeated Philip Rivers.
They went 0-3 against him.
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) January 20, 2021
7-round, 10-pick Cowboys Mock Draft: Defense and more defense
