Kellen Moore Leading Candidate For Cowboys’ OC Job?
Kellen Moore may well be set for a staggering rise within the coaching profession. The 30-year-old former quarterback-turned-quarterbacks coach spent one season on the Cowboys’ staff and has been linked to the recently available offensive coordinator job.
Moore appears to be the favorite to land the position, Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram notes.
Jerry Jones is eyeing an internal hire to take the job Scott Linehan held, and Moore — whom the organization regards as a “bright football mind” after making a strong impression this season as QBs coach — is receiving heavy consideration for the role, per Davison. Tight ends coach Doug Nussmeier is also a candidate, Jones said.
Regardless of the Cowboys’ hire here, Jason Garrett is expected to call plays next season.
Dak Prescott will play a “significant” part in determining his next OC, Jones said. Jon Kitna, who also backed up Tony Romo for a time prior to Moore’s arrival, is joining Dallas’ staff in a to-be-determined role — one that ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter said would be as the Cowboys’ QBs coach. Moore rising from reserve quarterback to OC within two years would be a Romo-esque leap within a profession. Moore, who made two starts for the 2015 Cowboys, retired as a player in January 2018.
The Cowboys are not expected to make any more outside hires, according to Stephen Jones (via the Dallas Morning News’ Kate Hairopoulos, on Twitter). The current staff’s roles and titles are being discussed.
Cowboys Hire Jon Kitna As QB Coach; Jason Garrett To Call Offensive Plays?
- We learned earlier today that the Cowboys could hire Jon Kitna as their QB coach and name Kellen Moore as their new OC. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), Kitna will indeed become Dallas’ QB coach, which means that Moore — who served as the team’s QB coach in 2018 — may very well take the OC reins. Schefter’s ESPN colleague, Chris Mortensen, reports that head coach Jason Garrett is “in line” to serve as the team’s offensive play-caller in 2019 regardless of who the OC is (Twitter link).
Kellen Moore Could Be Promoted To OC; Cowboys Interested In Hiring Jon Kitna
The Cowboys‘ offensive coordinator position is now vacant after the team parted ways with Scott Linehan several days ago, and we learned that tight ends coach Doug Nussmeier may be the favorite to replace Linehan. However, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggests that Dallas could look to promote quarterbacks coach Kellen Moore — whom Rapoport described as “fast-rising” and “impressive” — to the OC job (Twitter link). If that happens, RapSheet suggests that the team could add another one of its former QBs to the coaching staff by hiring Jon Kitna, most recently the offensive coordinator for the AAF’s San Diego Fleet, as the new quarterbacks coach.
Potential Cowboys OC Candidates
The Cowboys made a big splash today, firing longtime offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. Speculation immediately began swirling about who Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett would tap to be his replacement, and Jon Machota of Dallas News is out with a list of potential replacements. Machota writes that Cowboys tight ends coach Doug Nussmeier is “the favorite” for the job, and notes that Garrett has spoken highly of the former Alabama and Florida offensive coordinator. He also lists quarterbacks coach Kellen Moore and receivers coach Sanjay Lal as candidates.
If the Cowboys opt not to promote someone from within, they could be interested in Georgia offensive coordinator James Coley and Saints tight ends coach Dan Campbell, who played for the Cowboys from 2003 to 2005. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com tweeted that “it’s hard to imagine that Jerry Jones fired Scott Linehan without knowing in advance precisely who the replacement would be,” so it’s possible we hear very soon who it’ll be.
Latest On Prescott Extension
- Speaking of quarterback extensions, Dak Prescott will need one soon as well. 2019 will be the last year of his rookie contract, and what kind of extension the Cowboys offer him will be one of the more interesting contract developments this offseason. Former NFL agent and current CBS Sports analyst Joel Corry took a look at all of Dallas’ options, and came to the conclusion that inking Prescott to a new deal “may be a lot easier said than done.” He writes that the Cowboys may be reluctant to offer Prescott top of the quarterback market money because it would preclude them from extending other young players, but that Prescott’s agent Todd France has “a reputation for driving a hard bargain in negotiations”, and will be unlikely to back down. It’ll be fascinating to see how this one plays out, and whether Prescott ends up getting top quarterback money or has to settle for something in the lower $20MM’s.
Cowboys Sign WR Devin Smith
Devin Smith is back in the league. The former Jets second round pick signed a reserve/futures deal with the Cowboys today, according to his agent Jason Bernstein (Twitter link).
The 37th overall pick of the 2015 draft, Smith spent the entire 2018 season out of football after the Jets waived him back in July. Smith was always high on talent coming out of Ohio State, but was plagued by injuries once he reached the pros. He played in ten games his rookie season but managed just four in 2016 before missing the entire 2017 season with his second ACL tear.
In his Jets career, he caught just ten passes for 135 yards and one touchdown. The Cowboys have been doing whatever they can to upgrade their receiving corp ever since releasing Dez Bryant, first by drafting Michael Gallup, then by signing Allen Hurns and trading for Amari Cooper, and now by taking a flyer on Smith. Smith was always known as a speed demon, and drew comparisons to DeSean Jackson coming out of college.
Still only 26, it’s still possible he could develop into a legit deep threat for a team one day if he can stay healthy and prove he still has the burst he used to have. With the reserve/futures deal, he’ll be added to Dallas’ offseason 90-man roster and be with the team for OTA’s and training camp with the chance to compete for a roster spot.
Cowboys Fire OC Scott Linehan
Days after receiving a vote of confidence from head coach Jason Garrett, Scott Linehan is out of a job. The offensive coordinator has been dismissed, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Soon after Rapoport’s report, the Cowboys made it official with a formal announcement.
According to a statement from Garrett released by the team, this was a “mutual decision” between the Cowboys and the Linehan:
“This was not an easy decision because of how highly we regard Scott Linehan as a football coach and as a person. He and I had some really positive, substantive and open discussions which took place in the latter part of this week, and we ultimately agreed that it would be in the best interest of all of the parties involved if we were to make a change at this (offensive coordinator) position,” Garrett said. “This was very much a mutual decision, and there was a great deal of common ground and shared understanding between both of us during our meetings. Scott has had an incredibly positive impact on our football team. He has been instrumental in the development and success of a significant number of our veteran and younger players. He is an outstanding football coach, a great friend and we wish him and his family nothing but the absolute best moving forward.”
On Monday, Garrett told a local radio station that he did not foresee any changes to the coaching staff. Hours later, in a separate interview, he said that nothing was firm either way. Later, Jerry Jones did an interview of his own in which he made it clear that Garrett was not the one making the decision.
There were factors out of Linehan’s control – including the absence of offensive line anchor Travis Frederick – but there’s no way to sugarcoat it: the Cowboys offense underperformed in 2018. The midseason addition of wide receiver Amari Cooper opened things up, but the Cowboys ultimately did not have confidence in Linehan’s ability to steer the ship.
The Cowboys averaged 343.8 yards per game in 2018, good for just 22nd in the NFL. They also finished tenth in rushing yards, which fell below expectations given the presence of Ezekiel Elliott and the team’s reputation for having one of the NFL’s best offensive lines.
Cowboys Notes: Frederick, Colombo, Colman
Cowboys center Travis Frederick underwent shoulder surgery last week to repair a labrum issue, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Head coach Jason Garrett received the news of Frederick’s operation as a positive, an indication that Frederick is preparing for the 2019 campaign after missing the entirety of last season while battling Guillain-Barre syndrome. Frederick, an All-Pro caliber pivot when healthy, regained feeling in his hands in November, and hasn’t dealt with any recent numbness, per Archer. In December, Frederick expressed optimism that he’ll be ready for next season.
Here’s more from Dallas:
- Offensive line coach Marc Colombo will return to the Cowboys in 2019 after agreeing to a new contract, reports Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Colombo, 40, played for Dallas from 2005-10, then joined the club’s staff as assistant offensive line coach prior to the 2016 season. He interviewed for the Cowboys’ tight ends coach job last January, and was “in the mix” to take over Dallas’ front five after the team fired Frank Pollack following the 2017 season. Instead, that job went to Paul Alexander, whom Colombo ended up replacing midway through the 2018 campaign.
- Cowboys defensive Antwaun Woods tore his labrum in the second quarter of Dallas’ Divisional Round loss to the Rams, and in an impressive show of will, played the rest of the game, per Rapoport (Twitter link). Woods underwent surgery to correct the issue today. A 2016 undrafted free agent who spent his first two NFL seasons on the Titans’ practice squad, Woods played the most snaps of any Cowboys defensive tackle last seaaon. He’s under contract at the league minimum in 2019, and will be a restricted free agent the following offesason.
- The Cowboys have fired assistant special teams coach Doug Colman, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. At this point, that’s the only known change to the Dallas coaching staff. Colman, 45, previously served as a linebacker/special teams assistant with the Texans before joining the Cowboys last offseason. Dallas ranked 23rd in Football Outsiders’ special teams metrics in 2018.
Cowboys’ Sean Lee Leaning Towards Return
After several injury-plagued seasons in the NFL, no one would fault Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee if he were to call it a career. However, at this time, Lee says that he’s leaning towards a return in 2019 (via David Moore of the Dallas News). 
“I want to continue to play the game, but I have to evaluate physically where I’m at. I definitely have some decisions to make,” Lee said. “I’m leaning toward playing for sure.”
Staying on the field has long been an issue for Lee. Thanks to hamstring injuries, Lee appeared in only seven games in 2018 and was eventually eclipsed by rookie Leighton Vander Esch. The veteran finished out with a career-low 37 tackles and had just half a sack.
Lee was sensational for the Cowboys earlier in his career and still provides veteran leadership to the defense, so it won’t be an easy call for the team. Lee managed four interceptions in both the 2011 and 2013 seasons. He missed all of 2014 with a torn ACL, but bounced back to earn a Pro Bowl nod in 2015 and had a Pro Bowl/First-Team All-Pro season in 2016.
Lee, 33 in July, is under contract for one more season at a $10.075MM cap figure. The Cowboys can save $7MM by releasing him against just $3.075MM in dead money.
Cowboys’ Jerry Jones On Elliott, Linehan
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is determined to hammer out new deals with running back Ezekiel Elliott, quarterback Dak Prescott, edge rusher Demarcus Lawrence, and cornerback Byron Jones. However, he’s stopping short of any guarantees on those fronts. 
“I want him in the short-term and the long-term,” Jones said of Prescott in a radio interview (Twitter link via Jon Machota of the Dallas News).
He expressed the same sentiment about Elliott, Lawrence, and Jones while tempering expectations.
“Now, getting [those contracts done]…hell, I want a bigger boat,” said Jones.
This was an up-and-down year for Prescott, but the Cowboys seem committed to moving forward with the 25-year-old (26 in July). As it stands, they have the former fifth-round pick under contract for an $816K cap figure through 2019, which should work to the team’s advantage – given his relative lack of earnings to date, Prescott may take the security of a below-market long-term deal over the gamble of free agency next year.
New deals for Elliott and Lawrence will be expensive propositions, but the Cowboys are planning to devote a big chunk of their $54MM+ in cap space towards keeping the band together.
Later in the interview, Jones declined to give offensive coordinator Scott Linehan a vote of confidence.
“This is the time when these things are thought about,” Jones said when pressed on Linehan’s future (Twitter link). “This is the time when you may see an opportunity next week that you didn’t know existed next week, in the area of personnel or the area of coaching.”