Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy's comments precede meaningful change
The Dallas Cowboys dropped a media bomb in the middle of the AFC Championship Game on Sunday by announcing they were "mutually parting ways" with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. The Cowboys are officially moving on from Moore as Mike McCarthy is set to take over the play-calling duties. The head coach hasn't called plays since […]
The Dallas Cowboys dropped a media bomb in the middle of the AFC Championship Game on Sunday by announcing they were "mutually parting ways" with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
The Cowboys are officially moving on from Moore as Mike McCarthy is set to take over the play-calling duties. The head coach hasn't called plays since his time in Green Bay as the Cowboys had high hopes for Moore.
At times, those expectations were clearly justified. The Cowboys offense, for example, was fourth in the NFL in scoring even though they lost Dak Prescott for five games this season.
That wasn't a new place to be in for the Cowboys under Kellen Moore, either. In 2021, they were #1 in the league. In 2019, Moore's first year as OC under Jason Garrett, they ranked 6th.
But now, the team will move on with McCarthy, who had highly successful offenses for an extended period of time with the Packers.
The Cowboys head coach thanked Moore in a statement on Sunday night, saying "the production of our offense and his mentorship of Dak (Prescott) were at the center of Kellen's impact, and we are grateful for his tenure and leadership"
You can read his complete statement on Moore in ESPN's Todd Archer tweet below:
The Cowboys are also moving on from QB coach Doug Nussmeier, who's been in Dallas since 2019 when he arrived as TE coach.
Parting ways with Moore and Nussmeier also means the team no longer has an offense derived from Jason Garrett and Scott Linehan.
Even though McCarthy is well-known for his play-calling days in Green Bay, he arrived in Dallas to coach in a CEO type of role and the team hasn't been running his offense over the last few years.
These moves are a huge vote of confidence from the Cowboys' front office in the head coach. After all, it's no secret how highly they thought of Moore. To hand the keys to McCarthy while letting Kellen is certainly meaningful.
As for the vacancy for offensive coordinator, the Cowboys must fill it quickly.
With McCarthy seemingly taking over the offense heading into 2023, the Cowboys will possibly look at coaches with experience in the type of offense he wants to run.
Expect names like Ben McAdoo, Brian Schottenheimer, and others with ties to McCarthy to be in the mix.
For the first time since then, the offense will look really different in Dallas.
We'll find out if McCarthy's West Coast offense works as it did from 2006-2016 or if it will falter like it did in his last couple of years in Green Bay.
Featured image via Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
