Kellen Moore is the X-factor for the Dallas Cowboys

Kellen Moore, not Mike McCarthy, is the most critical Dallas Cowboys coach.

The 2020 offseason has been a whirlwind for the Dallas Cowboys for a multitude of reasons. But one of the major reasons being the coaching changes that they made.

For eight years, Jason Garrett was the head coach in Dallas. He managed an 85-67 record and made the playoffs a few times with but, as the years went on, it was clear that ownership was getting tired of not reaching their apparent ceiling. So this offseason, the Cowboys jettisoned Garrett and hired former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy.

McCarthy dominated while in Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers. He finished 125-77 and managed to win a Super Bowl with the Packers. But while McCarthy will certainly be a welcomed addition to the Cowboys, the biggest X-factor in Dallas is offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

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The Cowboys initially brought Moore on as a quarterbacks coach in 2018 following the end of his playing career. But after letting Scott Linehan go in 2019, Moore was promoted to the offensive coordinator position.

When you look at the impact that Moore had on the Cowboys offense in his first season in that job and compare it to when Linehan was the offensive coordinator, the impact is obvious.

The offense was slow in terms of pace under Linehan, ranking 24th according to Football Outsiders. Moore flipped the entire offense around in 2019, however, as the Cowboys ranked second in terms of pace. One a per drive basis, they were better too. According to Football Outsiders’ Drive Success rate, Dallas was second in 2019, compared to 2018 were they ranked 15th.

It wasn’t just speeding the offense up either. Moore turned things around with play-calling and design. The young offensive coordinator adopted a quarterback-friendly, analytics-driven offense, using bunch formations and motion to free up wide receivers. He also utilized more play-action to aid the efficiency of the offense.

Dallas had a mediocre at best offense under Linehan and certainly didn’t lean into analytics. In 2018, his final year as the OC, the Cowboys ranked 24th in Football Outsiders’ Offensive DVOA. The stats bore out Moore’s adaptations as the Cowboys, according to Football Outsiders, had the second-best Offensive DVOA only behind the Baltimore Ravens last season.

Now the task at hand is for Moore, with a year of experience, to be even better at his job in 2020. Luckily, he has a ton of weapons at his disposal. Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup were already quality options but Dallas also added CeeDee Lamb in the draft. As one of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2020 class, he’ll surely make Moore’s job easier.

What bodes well for Moore and his outlook for the 2020 season is that Mike McCarthy, who traditionally called plays in Green Bay, is letting Moore take on those duties. According to Todd Archer of ESPN, McCarthy even went as far as to say, “the language of the Cowboys offense will largely remain the same and he will have to adjust what he has been accustomed to calling in his West Coast system.”

The firepower that the Cowboys have on this roster is more than enough to be one of the best offenses in the NFL. Ultimately, how good this offense can be in the long run will come down to if Moore can improve upon his 2019 coaching campaign and, if he can, this Cowboys team is going to be extremely dangerous