Cowboys Coaching Carousel: Inside A Potential Pairing of Lincoln Riley and Marvin Lewis
FRISCO - The chess pieces are just starting to move here in Frisco, with on of them being the outgoing Jason Garrett, one of them being the just-interviewed Marvin Lewis, and - we believe - one of them soon to be Lincoln Riley.
The Dallas Cowboys' goodbye to Garrett is official. In the meantime, the Cowboys used this weekend on a two-day visit with ex-Packers coach Mike McCarthy and on an interview with former Bengals coach Marvin Lewis.
This has caused some observers to conclude that a) Dallas is "focusing only'' on NFL people with head-coaching experience and b) Lewis is a certified finalist for the top job in Dallas. Both those ideas merit a wait-and-see approach.
One cannot blame for Lewis thinking that way, of course; he's got skins on the wall and according to our buddy NFL Network’s Mike Garofolo, Marvin showed up at The Star while "telling teams he interviews with that he 'must' be able to bring Hue Jackson as his offensive coordinator
Lewis’ relationship with Jackson is obviously a strong one that ties them together through their days with the Bengals and Browns. And obviously he presented a "head-coach plan'' to the Joneses ... even as they may have other thoughts here.
First there is the idea that the Joneses might wish to foist their valued offensive assistants onto the post-Garrett staff. That group could include sitting coordinator Kellen Moore as well as O-line coach Marc Colombo and running backs coach Gary Brown. There are others on this staff who the Joneses value, too. But Moore and Jon Kitna may represent "too many chefs'' in QB Dak Prescott's kitchen and receivers coach Sanjay Lal and Amari Cooper may have not quite seen eye-to-eye.
Additionally is the whisper we've heard that maybe Lewis is a Dallas target not as the Cowboys' head coach, but rather as a defensive coordinator who would serve as the right-hand man - maybe even as the "assistant head coach'' of a new Dallas head coach who would benefit from the 61-year-old Lewis' vast experience.
That model (think Wade Phillips running the defense for Rams head coach Sean McVay) could work in Dallas in many forms, including one we've suggested often: Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley, 36, could be lured to The Star, certainly bringing some of his Sooner staff but also coupling with some existing Dallas aides ... and most of all, with somebody like Marvin Lewis.
