Dallas Cowboys: Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator not the right move
By Randy Gurzi
If the Dallas Cowboys go with Kellen Moore as the offensive coordinator this would be a mistake as it wouldn’t bring the needed change
This season, the Dallas Cowboys were frustratingly bad on offense. They finished the year with just 21.2 points per game which put them as the 22nd offense in the NFL.
They also finished low in passing yards, landing at No. 23 in the league with 221.1 yards per game. And the running game wasn’t where it should have been either as even with Ezekiel Elliott leading the league in yards, they were only the 10th ranked running attack (all according to NFL.com).
As bad as this all was, there seemed to be hope for 2019 as Dallas parted with offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, which opened the door for many different possibilities.
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Names like James Coley, Doug Nussmeier and Dan Campbell all popped up as candidates and each brought a level of excitement. For Coley and Nussmeier, there was the fact that these guys had ties to the college game, which meant they may be willing to incorporate more plays that would take advantage of Dak Prescott’s ability to run the ball.
With Campbell, there was excitement as he’s been a part of the New Orleans Saints organization the past three seasons as an assistant head coach and tight ends coach. He’s had success there and is working under one of the more creative offensive coaches in the game in Sean Payton.
Then there was a fourth entrant, who is apparently now the favorite according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, which is Kellen Moore.
Former NFL QB Jon Kitna, now offensive coordinator for the San Diego Fleet in the Alliance of American Football, is expected to become the Cowboys’ QB coach, per a league source. Dallas’ current QB coach, Kellen Moore, is a leading candidate to become Cowboys’ OC, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 20, 2019
The former Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys backup spent 2018 as a quarterbacks coach and the Cowboys love him. In fact, there are people outside of the organization like Daniel Jeremiah who believes he will one day be a head coach in the NFL.
Even so, fans on social media are irate over this possibility — which is understandable. Even if Moore is a coach on the rise, his background should give the team pause in promoting him.
The reason for that is Moore spent basically his entire career under the tutelage of Linehan. Undrafted out of Boise State in 2012, Moore joined Linehan in Detroit. He was with him for two seasons before re-joining Linehan in 2015 with Dallas.
Even his one season as quarterbacks coach came with Linehan as his offensive coordinator. All that means most of Moore’s offensive principles have to be, at least in some way, shaped by Linehan. That means making such a move wouldn’t bring the necessary change to maximize the talent in Big D.
Next. Linehan firing opens door for positive change. dark
The fact is, Dallas needs some drastic changes to an offense that didn’t come close to reaching their potential. And while Moore could end up being a good coach one day, his strong ties to Linehan hint that he wouldn’t bring that needed change but instead could end up being more of the same.