Heading into the 2022 NFL off-season, the Dallas Cowboys are in a very precarious situation. They have a head coach that seemingly should be on the hot seat except for the fact that his coordinators are both rock stars. That sets off another tricky setup for the Cowboys where they are seeing those coordinators, Dan Quinn on defense and Kellen Moore on offense, both interview for multiple head coaching jobs around the league.
So, would Dallas be interested in making a change to one of them from McCarthy?
Everyone thought so, but when Stephen Jones was asked on Monday about McCarthy's job status he said it was not an issue. That leaves the Cowboys on the outside looking in when it comes to both Quinn and Moore, something they can ill afford to have happened. It is probably too late for that now, as Quinn seems like a lock for a head coaching job (possibly with the Denver Broncos,) and Moore is reportedly keen on landing the Minnesota Vikings job.
The team also has a few key free agents to address before the 2022 NFL draft, one that they hope to hit out of the park just as they have in the past two when they drafted Trevon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons. Here are the three biggest issues the Cowboys must fix if they are going to win Super Bowl 57 in 2023.
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Three Cowboys issues to fix
3. Figure out the coaching staff
As we talked about earlier, the coaching staff is going to need a nice little reboot. What we suggest here is that if Patrick Graham is not retained by the New York Giants' new head coach, the Cowboys should be running to his doorstep with a contract. The man is seen by his players as a defensive mastermind and he also has players loving to play for him. That is a hard combination to find for a defensive coach.
On offense, if Moore is not retained, the team should look “in-house” and promote Jeff Blasko from offensive line coach to offensive coordinator. He has Joe Philbin there who has called plays before that he can lean on as he learns to do that, but the biggest benefactor of hiring an offensive line coach as your offensive coordinator is that it usually betters your run game. That would be a sight for sore eyes for all Cowboys fans if they are able to fix the running game issues.
Big week for #Cowboys DC Dan Quinn, one of the most popular HC candidates: He interviews with the #Broncos on Tuesday, source said, and has three more later in the week.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 17, 2022
2. Decide whether to bring back Michael Gallup and/or Dalton Schultz
These two are both free agents and would be looking at similarly scorching hot markets if not for Gallup's late-season ACL tear. While the injury probably makes it more likely that Gallup will be re-signing with the Cowboys than with someone else, it also takes away a lot of money from the young man and that is the truly sad part here. We say, sign Gallup to a back-loaded three-year, $35 million contract. He gets $17 million guaranteed: $5 million guaranteed for rehab in year one, and then $12 million guaranteed for year two. Then, the Cowboys have an option for the third year worth $18 million.
For Schultz, this one gets a little bit trickier because he is going to get top-ten tight end money in free agency. If the Cowboys are willing to pay that price then that is probably where he will stay because it will give him the best chance to produce statistically and therefore earn another contract. If the money is not close, though, expect Schultz to take the payday and walk, possibly following Moore or Quinn to their next destination.
Cowboys TE Dalton Schultz, an impending unrestricted free agent, has been a bright spot all game. A gain of 38. He's caught six of seven targets for a team-high 80 yards.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) January 17, 2022
1. Have another great draft
The Cowboys have hit it out of the park in the last two drafts. From CeeDee Lamb to Trevon Diggs to Micah Parsons to the litany of producers they have found in the later rounds in the draft, Dallas has young stars virtually everywhere. They cannot let their foot off of the gas, however, because they have the Philadelphia Eagles and WFT chomping at their heels in an effort to dethrone the NFC East division champs and the Giants will have a new general manager, head coach, and probably at quarterback by the time the 2022 season rolls around.
There won't be very many seasons as easy as this one for the Cowboys to win their division, but they can make it a lot less hard on themselves with another great draft. The team needs to keep accumulating young talent on the defense and they need to replenish the offensive line. Those are two things that usually do not happen quickly but have recently been shown to be possible with the way the Kansas City Chiefs fixed their offensive line in the 2021 off-season and the way the Los Angeles Rams fixed their defense in the 2020 off-season.
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