Ticking Time Bomb: Jerry's Cowboys Primed For 'Implosion' or 'Explosion' in 2024?
The Dallas Cowboys knew changes needed to be made after the horrific 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Wildcard Round. Fans wanted change, and they got it ... just not in the area they thought.
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is now the Washington Commanders head coach and he took Joe Whitt Jr. with him - that creates a job opening at The Star.
With several candidates set to interview for the vacant defensive coordinator position, headlined by former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and former Commanders head coach Ron Rivera, changes are afoot for the Cowboys.
While change was deemed necessary after the messy playoff exit, CBS Sports thinks that Dallas' season next year could do one of two ways because of it.
"They and their NFC East rival Eagles could be viewed as ticking time bombs: They're primed for either a total implosion or explosion after embarrassing playoff exits that marred otherwise statistically successful seasons," CBS Sports writes. "Jerry Jones' surprising commitment to Mike McCarthy atop the staff could aid in keeping Dak Prescott and Co. comfortable, and the defense is still littered with young playmakers. As always, however, the issue is coming through when it matters most."
mike, dak and Jerry
So looking at the changes, offensively what Mike McCarthy was able to do in his first season as the offensive play-caller was impressive. He transformed Dak Prescott into a viable MVP candidate as he had one of his best seasons since entering the league leading the "Texas Coast Offense."
While the run game was poor, the Cowboys still managed to put up points, almost at will and ranked first (29.9 points per). CeeDee Lamb emerged as a genuine star of the league and McCarthy again oversaw a 12-win season, his third straight year doing so.
So offensively, keeping things status quo after what McCarthy managed to put together felt logical...even if Cowboy Nation thought otherwise.
Then we get to the defense.
Let's preface this by stating that what Quinn was able to do after the Mike Nolan season deserves credit, but after a stellar start to the year, in which "Doomsday" was being mentioned as the defense's new persona, things fell away, and rapidly in the back half of the season.
In the first 10 weeks, the Cowboys' defense only gave up 350+ total yards three times, but then proceeded to give up 406 (Seahawks), 351 (Bills), 375 (Dolphins), and 420 to the Detroit Lions in a five-week stretch. Not to mention the 415 to Green Bay that saw the defense disintegrate at AT&T Stadium.
Also, the obvious weakness of their failure to stop the run reared its ugly head again as the wart on this Dallas defense has been visible for years. The Cowboys gave up rushing totals of 222, 170, 266, 125, and 143 and only kept teams under 100 rushing yards just six times.
So there are some holes to plug and the hunt for a new defensive coordinator has begun.
There will be plenty of change, especially defensively for the Cowboys moving forward, and with McCarthy being a "lame duck" coach, Dallas does have the potential to pull together and finally make it over the playoff hump as everything is on the line.
If they don't, the alternative would likely mean a detonation of the setup as we know it at The Star.
The scales are delicately poised.
