Dallas Cowboys Archives - Head Coach Ranking

Three of the NFL’s Most Desirable Jobs Could Open Up in 2020

By HCR Staff | Oct. 9, 2019

We’re a quarter of the way through the 2019 NFL season, and speculation already has begun on which head coaching jobs could open for the 2020 season.

Surprisingly, three jobs that could open would be among the most desirable in the NFL.

In Pittsburgh, head coach Mike Tomlin is under intense scrutiny. He already has served a long tenure in Pittsburgh, and based on what we have seen thus far this season, we believe that Tomlin’s methods have grown stale in Pittsburgh.

If this job opens, it is incredibly attractive for its stability. It is well documented that the Rooney family exhibits patience with its head coaches (only three since 1969), and if Tomlin were terminated, the talent cupboard also would not be completely bare. Additionally, any Steelers head coach enjoys a large and passionate fan base that truly provides a home field advantage.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones already has been inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. He also owns the most valuable sports team in the world. Jerry’s reached the pinnacle in these areas, and this is what he is accustomed to.

However, in head coach Jason Garrett, he also is accustomed to a .500 coach. It’s as if Jones is accustomed to ordering the best steak in the house, and then proceeds to douse it with ketchup.

If Jones were to make a change at head coach, the job would be attractive because Jones would spare no expense in making his team competitive. However, one of the drawbacks to the job, is simply managing Jones. It’s a high maintenance job in this respect, and not every candidate will be suited for it.

Finally, Dan Quinn’s tenure as the Atlanta Falcons head coach may be nearing an end. Owner Arthur Blank has a difficult time hiding his impatience for a Super Bowl championship, and right now, he is witnessing a team that cannot perform to its talent level.

Blank has done an admirable job in elevating the quality of this organization. The Falcons organization is on sound financial footing, has a new stadium and other outstanding facilities, and is in a large market that also is desirable as a place to live.

We see only two downsides to this position. One, the fan base is fickle and doesn’t always provide a true home-field advantage. Second, the NFC South continues to be one of the NFL’s toughest divisions.

Dallas Cowboys Hang On To Defeat Seahawks in Wild Card Round

By HCR Staff | Jan. 6, 2019

As in the Colts-Texans AFC Wild Card game earlier in the day, elite defenses again took center stage Saturday night as the Dallas Cowboys held on for a 24-22 win over the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC’s opening game of the NFL postseason.

The Cowboys and Seahawks have very similar defenses, with long, fast, athletic players. Those defenses didn’t disappoint Saturday night, as they controlled the game.

Playing at home, Dallas’ defense did a terrific job of shutting down the Seahawks’ vaunted running game. Without much of a running game, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was forced to improvise, and outside of wide receiver Tyler Lockett, he didn’t have much more help. The Seahawks started slow, but thanks to their elite defense went into halftime down only four.

The Cowboys scored first, taking a 3-0 lead, and subsequently had six opportunities to take control of the game with a two-possession lead. They went 0-for-6, as Seattle’s defense, led by linebacker Bobby Wagner and cornerback Shaquille Griffin, repeatedly thwarted Dallas’ offense.

Dallas was finally able to take control of the game with a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter after a terrific kick return by wide receiver Tavon Austin.

While Dallas advances to the divisional round, we see a fairly one-dimensional team. It’s a team that is led by a great defense, but supported by an offense that simply isn’t that dynamic. If opposing defensive coordinators center their efforts on stopping running back Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys don’t have enough of a high-powered passing game to threaten anybody to any significant degree. Additionally, it looks as if wide receiver Amari Cooper might have been slightly dinged in this game, and if he is slowed down by any significant degree, then Dallas’ offense will be severely hampered.

There was some scuttlebutt that if Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett lost this game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might consider terminating him. With this Victory, however, Garrett is virtually assured of returning in 2019. If that happens, we predict the Cowboys will look for a new offensive coordinator in any event. Current offensive coordinator Scott Linehan has been with the team for some time, and the offense simply does not look as innovative as others. Having said that, the offensive personnel lacks in some key areas, and that is not through any fault of Linehan.

If the Chicago Bears follow through and win at home against the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Will go on the road to New Orleans next week. While the Cowboys defense matches up with the Saints offense, the Saints will have at their disposal in this next go-round wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. Ginn was out with an injury when the Cowboys beat the Saints in Week 13. He is the field stretcher, and his presence will be a difference-maker in the next round for the Saints if they should face the Cowboys.

Dallas Cowboys 36, New York Giants 35 – Dec. 30, 2018

At New York
1:00 p.m. ET
37 degrees

TEAM	PLAY CALLING	PERSONNEL	GAME PLANNING	IN-GAME ADJ	CLOCK MGMT	HCR
DAL	8	8	8	7	8	7.8
NYG	8	8	8	8	7	7.8

Key Coaching Decision #1: (DAL ball, leading 14-10 / fourth-and-2, DAL 43 / 6:57 Q3)
• Dallas decided to go for it on fourth down. Dak Prescott completed an 11-yard pass to Cole Beasley to keep the drive alive. Prescott finished off the drive with a touchdown pass and a 21-10 Dallas lead.

Key Coaching Decision #2: (NYG ball, trailing 21-16/ 2-point attempt / 2:00 Q3)
• After a Giants touchdown, they decided to go for two. Eli Manning hit Evan Engram for a short pass an a successful 2-point attempt to cut the lead to three points.

Key Coaching Decision #3: (NYG ball, trailing 28-25 / fourth-and-1, NYG 35 / 7:48 Q4)
• Giants went for it on fourth down trailing by three points. Eli Manning ran a quarterback sneak to get the first down. Saquon Barkley capped off the Giants drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Key Coaching Decision #4: (DAL ball, trailing 35-34 / 2-point attempt / 1:19 Q4)
• After an amazing touchdown reception by Cole Beasley, the Cowboys went for two. Dak Prescott hit Michael Gallup for the successful conversion to give Dallas a 1-point lead.

Key Observations:
• Dak Prescott played one of the best games of his career and finished with 387 yards passing and four touchdowns to lead the Cowboys to the road victory.

• Saquon Barkley set the NFL record for receptions by a rookie as he finished with 91 catches on the season. He finished the game with over 130 yards of total offense and a touchdown.

• As winners of the NFC East, Dallas will host the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round next Saturday night. The Giants will head into the offseason having to decide if Eli Manning will be back leading the New York offense.

Dallas Cowboys 27, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 – Dec. 23, 2018

At Dallas
1:00 p.m. ET
Dome

TEAM	PLAY CALLING	PERSONNEL	GAME PLANNING	IN-GAME ADJ	CLOCK MGMT	HCR
TB	7	7	7	7	7	7.0
DAL	7	7	7	7	7	7.0

Key Coaching Decision #1: (TB ball, trailing 27-13 / fourth-and-2, TB 45 / 15:00 Q4)
Key Coaching Decision #2: (TB ball, trailing 27-13 / fourth-and-1, DAL 16 / 10:25 Q4)
Key Coaching Decision #3: (TB ball, trailing 27-13 / fourth-and-6, DAL 16 / 7:57 Q4)

• Dallas had just scored on two straight drives (10 points) and the Bucs needed to put some points on the board as the game had entered the fourth quarter. They would attempt three fourth-down conversions on the drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock.

• Fourth-Down Attempt #1: After the start of the fourth quarter, Jameis Winston threw a short pass to Jacquizz Rodgers for a five-yard gain on fourth down to extend a Bucs drive.

• Fourth-Down Attempt #2: Later, and in Cowboys territory, Winston plunged ahead for a 2-yard gain. However, a defensive delay of game penalty on DeMarcus Lawrence gave the Bucs another fourth down conversion on the drive.

• Fourth-Down Attempt #3: The Bucs’ luck ended on their third fourth-down conversion attempt as a Winston 5-yard scramble left them one yard short of a first down.

• The Bucs held the ball for 17 plays and 73 yards and took 9:35 off the clock and scored no points. This for the most part ended the Bucs’ chances of coming back in the game. They eventually would cut the Cowboys advantage to 27-20.

Key Observations:
• The Cowboys clinched the NFC East title with the win over Tampa Bay. It is their second division title in three years. Tampa Bay has now lost three straight games.

• Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston threw for 336 yards and one touchdown on 34 of 48 passing attempts. His efforts were much needed as the Bucs’ running game could not generate much (24 carries for 63 yards) against a stingy Cowboys run defense.

• Tampa Bay’s offense ran 25 more plays (75 to 50) than Dallas and enjoyed an advantage of more than 160 total yards (383 to 232) in the loss.

• Meanwhile, Dak Prescott threw for only 161 yards on 20 of 25 passing attempts. While the Cowboys offense struggled, running back Ezekiel Elliott, the NFL rushing leader, carried the load for the team and finished with 85 rushing yards on 18 carries and had five receptions for 24 yards.

• The Cowboys defensive front may be without one of their core players as defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford left the game on a stretcher and with his neck stabilized.

Key Observations From Week 16 in the NFL

By HCR Staff | Dec. 24, 2018

Here are 10 key observations from Week 16 in the NFL:

• Baltimore Ravens safety Eric Weddle says that nobody wants to face the Ravens in the playoffs, and we feel the same way. Not only are the Ravens playing with tremendous confidence, but they are a team that truly seems to believe it can physically dominate opponents. Going into Los Angeles and beating the Chargers on a short week, cross-country trip, while the Chargers had nine days to prepare, was very impressive.

• If the Indianapolis Colts get into the playoffs, this is another team that we would find very dangerous. Quarterback Andrew Luck is playing with an enthusiasm we have not seen in several years, and this is a young team that clearly enjoys playing together. We saw Pro Bowl tight end Eric Ebron leave with an injury, however, so that bears monitoring.

• Preseason previews predicted that the wide receiver position would be a weak unit of the Cleveland Browns. However, as things have turned out, the receiver group — Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway, Breshad Perriman and Rashard Higgins — is proving to be the heart of the team. Add in emerging tight end David Njoku and quarterback Baker Mayfield has a promising set of weapons for the near future.

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston has taken his fair share of criticism, but over the last several weeks he actually has played very well. Even though the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Bucs on Sunday, Winston carried the Bucs throughout much of this game and the Cowboys had to fight very hard for this victory.

• As for the Cowboys, their offense has struggled for about three weeks now, and that will be a concern going into the playoffs. They just don’t look very crisp at the moment, and the offensive line appears to be wearing down.

• The Minnesota Vikings need a win next week against the Bears to get into the playoffs. While the game is at home, we still don’t like the Vikings’ chances. While they defeated the Lions Sunday, the Vikings really didn’t do very much offensively until converting a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the first half. The Vikings clearly have the defense to contend, but offensively, they are far from an elite unit.

• The coaching call of the day had to be the decision by Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin to try a fake punt with 4:06 left to go in New Orleans and nursing a four-point lead from his own 42-yard line. We have stated it here on many occasions: Tomlin, in our view, is an average in-game decision maker as a head coach. We feel this is one critical element that causes the Steelers to play below their potential. Sure enough, the fake punt was unsuccessful and the Saints took over on downs and drove for the game-winning touchdown.

• Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Robert Woods doesn’t get much national acclaim, but we feel he is one of the best wide receivers in football. We consider him to be a complete receiver — one who will block, run, catch and do whatever is necessary to help his team win. He plays the position in a textbook fashion, and is a joy to watch.

• Another player who does not get much national acclaim but is among the best players at his position is Seattle Seahawks cornerback Shaquille Griffin. He has emerged as a leader on one of the NFL’s top secondaries, and also is one of the best tackling corners in the game.

• It’s very clear the New England Patriots are ailing. They just don’t know what type of offense they can run with consistent effectiveness. Even though they rushed for over 270 yards in Sunday’s win over the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots still struggled to score points. One of the main reasons is that the offensive line continues to commit a significant amount of penalties. The Patriots simply don’t have explosive enough offensive personnel to overcome first-and-20 time and again.

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