Dallas Cowboys: Scott Linehan firing opens door for positive change
The Dallas Cowboys announced that they’ve parted ways with offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, which paves the way for optimism with the offense.
On Friday, after speculation was brewing around the Dallas Cowboys in regards to the future of their coaching staff, the organization made its big move. The team announced in the early afternoon that they have fired (or mutually parted ways with, to use their term) offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.
Linehan had been criticized heavily over the past two seasons for the Cowboys offense, particularly throughout the 2018 campaign. Though things certainly improved once the Amari Cooper trade transpired, the ultimate result was an offense that was mediocre at best. And really, mediocrity will only carry you so far in front of the Cowboys fan base and team owner Jerry Jones.
When you look at the personnel of the Cowboys, there’s nothing that they have going that should be mediocre. Ezekiel Elliott is a superstar talent running behind a star-studded offensive line. Moreover, Cooper is a first-round talent that showed in Dallas that he can be a game-breaker. On top of that, Dak Prescott may not be a perfect quarterback, but he’s proven to be a unique and effective talent.
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And yet, Linehan never seemed to be able to fully maximize that. Even though Elliott found success, it was often predictable in how they were doing that and the success was predicated on the talent of the players involved rather than the scheme.
When you look at the four teams playing in the 2019 conference championships, you see that innovation and creativity is so critical in the modern NFL. Whether it’s Andy Reid or Sean McVay or Josh McDaniels/Bill Belichick or Sean Payton, the willingness to adapt to the league and maximize the effectiveness of the personnel on the roster is critical. Linehan never showed that.
Subsequently, Cowboys fans should be over the moon at the road ahead with Linehan gone. While it’s always tough to hope a man loses his job, after the fact, it opens up big doors for Dallas moving forward. Yes, that depends on who they hire, but there is at least the potential to bring in a fresh mind that can maximize the elite and obvious talent within the offense.
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There is no doubt that Linehan had his moments in Dallas, but it was clear over the past two seasons that he wasn’t adapting as rapidly as the rest of the league was, leaving the Cowboys a step behind — even with a young defense breaking out to support the offense. Thus, there is reason for optimism with Linehan out in Dallas. If all goes well, the pieces are in place for a big offensive boom in 2019 and beyond.