The Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks are calling it the “Texas Coast” offense. And while we can already imagine the T-shirts being printed as we speak, it really isn’t a very revealing nickname.

How head coach Mike McCarthy runs the offense as he takes over play-calling will be one of the biggest stories of the year. 

Let’s dive into the five biggest remaining questions about how different things will look with him on Dak Prescott’s ear.  

1. Pass-happy Cowboys?

Listen, I know Mike McCarthy has said that he wants to "run the damn ball." But I explained why I'm just not buying it in a recent article. He just simply didn't do that when he was at Green Bay.

Will that change with the Cowboys? Last year, Kellen Moore's offense ranked 26th in the NFL in early-down pass attempt percentage in neutral situations. They were one of the most run-heavy teams in the league which in turn led to a lot of third-and-long scenarios. 

I'm betting on McCarthy making life easier on Dak Prescott with a more aggressive approach on early downs to stay ahead of the sticks. 

2. Will Dak Prescott take more deep shots?

Although Prescott ranked fourth in a recent article listing the best deep throwers in the NFL, he didn't do much of it last year. Per Pro Football Focus, he was 23rd in the league in deep passes attempt percentage.

In the previous three years of Kellen Moore calling the offense, he was around league average. Will the arrival of Brandin Cooks paired with McCarthy taking over nudge Dak toward a more aggressive or conservative approach? I'm betting he'll be somewhere in between like Aaron Rodgers was with McCarthy.

3. Do the Cowboys have a new-found identity in the run game?

Last year, it became clear the Cowboys didn't have a go-to answer on offense when things weren't going their way. As Moore got praise early in the year for being a "play-collector" with countless tricks up his sleeve, it became evident that reputation came with a significant trade-off: The Cowboys didn't have that one thing they did great.

That could change this year as the offense is expected to focus on running an outside zone scheme. It won't be new for the players. They'll just do it a lot more. And hopefully, that results in much better results and the ability to impose their will in big moments. 

4. Will the offense lean on play-action? 

Will an increased use of outside zone lead to a play-action-heavy offense? I'm betting no. Between 2012 and 2018, Aaron Rodgers ranked higher than 18th in play-action percentage only once (2014) per PFF.

Last year, Prescott was 19th in the NFL in this category with Moore calling the plays. The key will be to being successful (and even better, explosive) when such a play call is dialed up. 

5. Is Mike McCarthy making things static or using motion? 

This one fascinates me. Prescott's pre-snap processing is among the best in the NFL. Because of that, McCarthy might prefer to keep things simple for his quarterback as he did with Rodgers. A static picture gives the quarterback a cleaner read. 

McCarthy's offenses famously didn't use as much motion (you could argue even to a fault) to allow Rodgers to do his thing.

Heck, part of Rodgers' friction with current Packers HC Matt LaFleur was a difference in how they went about implementing motion to their offense. 

Where will McCarthy and Prescott land here? Moore called motion 7% more than the league median in his years with the Cowboys. McCarthy used it 10% less than the median between 2016 and 2018, per Sam Hoppen’s fantastic thread on play caller’s tendencies.

Prescott's processing can be used either way and I'm looking forward to seeing how this aspect of the offense looks like in 2023. It will tell us a lot about a renewed McCarthy.

Featured image via Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports