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Dallas Cowboys: 3 Head coach options to do what Jason Garrett couldn’t

By Randy Gurzi

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 07: Urban Meyer watches the action during the BIG Ten Football Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 07, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 07: Urban Meyer watches the action during the BIG Ten Football Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 07, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TX – DECEMBER 07: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts after a touchdown touchdown against the Baylor Bears in the third quarter of the Big 12 Football Championship at AT&T Stadium on December 7, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX – DECEMBER 07: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts after a touchdown touchdown against the Baylor Bears in the third quarter of the Big 12 Football Championship at AT&T Stadium on December 7, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) /

Lincoln Riley

With Dak Prescott under center, the Cowboys have a quarterback capable of making plays with his arm as well as his legs. One of the biggest criticisms of the Jason Garrett era was the inability to adapt to what their players do best.

This wasn’t only happening on offense with Prescott, but also on defense as they continually used corners who excelled at man coverage in zone. They also seem to forget Ezekiel Elliott can be a weapon in the passing game while force-feeding an aged Jason Witten.

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To sum it all up, this staff is old-school and they have not adapted to a changing NFL. Finding someone who can adapt and change with the times is going to be of primary importance in this job search.

With that being one of their goals, it would make sense to give Lincoln Riley a call. The Oklahoma coach has had three different starting quarterbacks in his three seasons with the Sooners. First, it was Baker Mayfield who won the Heisman Trophy and went first overall in the draft.
Next came Kyler Murray, who also won the Heisman and went first overall.

That streak has been broken as Jalen Hurts, their quarterback in 2019, didn’t win the trophy and won’t be in the No. 1 overall discussion. However, his draft stock was significantly raised under Riley and the coach is now 36-5 with 12 wins in each of his first three seasons.

Riley is an offensive innovator who will be able to get the most out of someone such as Prescott. He will also be able to scheme better passing plays for Zeke and hopefully, he won’t be tied to any older players who need to be benched for younger, more explosive options.

The real question is whether or not Riley would want to leave Oklahoma. He’s winning easily there and has them in contention for a National Title every year. He may want to keep building that program, but if they could lure him, the offense would see significant improvement.

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