DC Rod Marinelli, Cowboys Reach Agreement

4:50pm: A league source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link via Todd Archer) that Marinelli has agreed to a three-year deal with the Cowboys.

4:11pm: The Cowboys and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli have reached an agreement on a new contract that will keep the former Lions head coach in Dallas, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Word of Marinelli’s new deal comes on the heels of a report that head coach Jason Garrett is nearing agreement on a five-year pact to stick with the Cowboys.

The numbers for Marinelli’s defensive unit in 2014 may not look impressive on the surface — the club allowed 355.1 yards per game, which ranked 19th in the NFL, and placed 22nd in defensive DVOA, per Football Outsiders. However, coming into the season, there was a perception that Dallas’ defense would be historically bad, so the fact that it was only slightly below average despite a handful of injuries and a lack of star talent is a credit to Marinelli.

Prior to becoming the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator for the 2014 season, Marinelli was the team’s defensive line coach in 2013, and served as a defensive assistant on the Bears’ staff from 2010 to 2012.

View Comments (0)