The Teams Biggest Need Is Still...

[Dallas94Ware]

...head coach.

And I think it's time we have this talk (or debate?)

Dallas has cycled through some coaches over the last 20 some odd years. Starting with the hire of Dave Campo, which was a poor decision from day one, Jerry has tried kicking the tires on retreads, brought in an all time great, and rolled the dice with an up and coming new age playcalling assistant at the head job.

Parcells, everyone knew was not a long term solution. But a great hire nonetheless, as he built a team that was capable of competing and left the team in a much better situation than when he found it. But he was never going to be that answer to a question that requires a solution longer than a few years.

Wade Phillips was an experienced coach and defensive guru, and while he was essentially just a simple yes man, he was a decent fit at the time. The team was stacked, built well on defense, and had just had a true disciplinarian working them to the bone. The change up offered the young team a chance at defining their own culture. But this, again, was never going to be a long term answer.

Garrett was probably the most realistic chance Jerry and co. Have taken at a long term head guy. He had an eye for talent and stressed football players over athletic talent. While his tenure was a roller coaster ride and his short comings evident, the hire was a shot at locking in that youthful, new era (at the time) coach capable of being that stern faced, arms-crossed, thoughtful-faced coach that could usher in a decade and a half of winning culture and leadership. In some regards it worked, but in most regards, it did not.

Now enter retread Mike McCarthy, an offensive guru with a great knack for playcalling and play design. This may be his first true chance to show what has made him a coveted offensive coach even prior to Green Bay. But you know what he has never been? A good head coach. 

Hear me out...

He was run out of town in GB because of his lack of clock management skills and a consistent inability to develop the talented players they brought in. He won a ring on the magic of Aaron Rodgers and the quality depth built when Brett Favre was still the QB. Short of the rise of Rodgers to an all time great, the team seemed to drop another peg every season under McCarthy.

Those long term, good answers to the HC question typically fall into one of several categories:

A swift thinking, gameplan man who's playcalling, in-game and halftime adjustments, and ability to put his guys in a position best suited for them, week in and week out. Guys like Sean McVay, Sean Payton and, despite mixed results, even Ron Rivera fall into this category.

A leader who builds culture, stresses discipline and hard work, spots and hires great assistants to cooperatively install and execute a proper scheme and gameplan, and puts an emphasis on doing the basics to perfection. This is the Mike Tomlins, Bill Belichicks and Harbaughs of the football world.

The creative guy who's chess like strategies vary greatly week to week, but also carry over several key principles that they have had their team master. They emphasize system and execution of their system, and use their creativity to catch you off guard at the worst moments to out coach their opponent for a win. The trust the process guys. This is the Andy Reids, Bruce Arians, and Kyle Shannahans of football.

Now sure, with many of those guys there are clear overlaps in my little set of categories. For example, Shannahan also spots and hires great assistants or Sean Payton definitely puts system and gameplan at a top priority, and will certainly out coach you withna chess move you never saw coming. And that's all part of what makes them even greater.

But where does Mike fall? At GB he certainly showed he was more the glorified OC and not the HC, managing culture, clock, gameplan, and team with success, but rather, managing a great offense and struggling in the areas that differentiate a coordinator from a HC. Is this the year he changes that? Time will tell ... But I am betting no, as his clock management, adjustments, game planning and the like have all already come into question.

But, outside of a few true one hit wonders who got lucky with an all pro cast - much like Mike himself - all of the SB winners and especially truly long term successes teams have seen to tie directly into that HC being stellar in one of those categories I've mentioned above. 

If Dallas wants that level of consistent success, with a SB or potentially more, but at least truly competing for one every season (save for a bad injury plagued season or just a few bad ball bounce seasons mixed in) then they really need to step it up in finding that next great leader at HC. They lost out on two guys I banged the forum table for hard in Vrabel and now Ryans, and I was even all for, albiet a bit on the fence for Steichen, and even going further back I was all in for Kyle Shannahan. But there are still some quality candidates for that position coming up. Dan Quinn could, possibly, be a shorter term but quality answer as he has that track record to boot. Some even local Texas NCAA coaches who I think deserve a true chance as a coordinator in the NFL and eventually a pro HC. But until Dallas answers that HC question with a solid, long term answer...their success will always be a roller coaster, and season optimism pretty much always be met with a "yeah, but..." 

[DaBoys]

QB

[D82]

I mean, his first season aside when Dak missed basically the entire year, he's led the team to two back-to-back 12 win seasons, and a playoff victory. 

Do I think he's the guy to get this team another Super Bowl? Idk...but...I feel they could do a lot worse (Garrett *cough*). 

I'd say they have to at least get to the NFC Championship game this year, anything short of that and I'd definitely move on. 

[Dallas94Ware]

4 hours ago, D82 said:

I mean, his first season aside when Dak missed basically the entire year, he's led the team to two back-to-back 12 win seasons, and a playoff victory. 

Do I think he's the guy to get this team another Super Bowl? Idk...but...I feel they could do a lot worse (Garrett *cough*). 

I'd say they have to at least get to the NFC Championship game this year, anything short of that and I'd definitely move on. 

I do get what you are saying, thousand percent. Back to back 12 win seasons is .. Wow. 

But was that truly his doing? That is why I disagree with ya bud.

It was in large part due to Quinns job coaching that defense and creating a volley of turnovers this team hadn't known since 94 or 93. The offense was explosive at times, but was it even his offense? Which leads you to grade out the performance solely based on what a HC does. And his clock management? Abysmal. Deciding when and when not to go for it on 4th? Atrocious (though if it works, it is genius ..so yeah). His management of practice and injury would be impossible to gauge in today's tutu-wearing, no-practice era of practicing. But offensive free agents under him haven't exactly shined, while Quinns handpicks on defense (and yes McClay and Jerry and Stephen do play a part) have absolutely smashed it (Kearse, Fowler, Hooker) for their cap hits. 

So what exactly has Mike done besides stand at a podium every Sunday? It is unfair to gauge his offense negatively or positively because he did not run said offense, so I ask again...what has this guy done as a HC that leads one to think he can be a guy we can hang onto and find success? 

If anything, Quinn seems to have shifted the culture and direction of this team more than McCarthy. By a wide margin.

 

[Dallas94Ware]

8 hours ago, DaBoys said:

QB

Well, yeah ..this too 😂

And I was yelling at my TV for Hooker or Levis in round 1 and round 2 for this very reason 

But I still believe a long term, mainstay, quality HC is more important than anything right now. Vrabel went to a division title game with Freaking Ryan Freaking Tanne-freaking-hill at QB. McVay won a SB with a wash up who's career trajectory in wins-losses looked more like Vinny Testaverde's than Joe Montana's. Andy Reid made four straight NFC title game appearances with a QB who is not really all that dissimilar from our very own Dak Prescott. Few differences but still not all that dissimilar. 

Having a truly capable chess player style coach makes a tremendous difference 

[quiller]

59 minutes ago, Dallas94Ware said:

Well, yeah ..this too 😂

And I was yelling at my TV for Hooker or Levis in round 1 and round 2 for this very reason 

But I still believe a long term, mainstay, quality HC is more important than anything right now. Vrabel went to a division title game with Freaking Ryan Freaking Tanne-freaking-hill at QB. McVay won a SB with a wash up who's career trajectory in wins-losses looked more like Vinny Testaverde's than Joe Montana's. Andy Reid made four straight NFC title game appearances with a QB who is not really all that dissimilar from our very own Dak Prescott. Few differences but still not all that dissimilar. 

Having a truly capable chess player style coach makes a tremendous difference 

See us against Sf in last two playoffs.   That has been more about coaching and style of play than anything.  

[Dallas94Ware]

2 hours ago, quiller said:

See us against Sf in last two playoffs.   That has been more about coaching and style of play than anything.  

Exactly my point!

This last playoff loss...we had the better QB. The better OL. The better D (their D is great but was missing vital players). 

And yet with a rookie QB...let alone the LASTPICK in the draft who only got a chance to play due to two injuries to guys ahead of him, and with all those defensive stars out hurt or playing hurt, that team stifled our lines protection schemes, flustered our QB, and put our defenders out of position down after down.

How?

Coaching!

Shannahan is the real deal. It's not a fluke that his team is constantly in the running come late January and February. It's not a fluke that with two different QBs in just a few seasons he's been in or nearly in the SB. It's not a fluke that even when his lead passer goes down, the team still finds ways to win. And not just win games... But win PLAYOFF games. Sure, Dallas won a few games with Cooper Rush, running the ball a thousand times and playing great D and playing for field position off the punt and solid, technically sound football. But Shannahan's team didn't have to run 40 times and punt on 4th and 1 with their back up. Nope, they played just as hard with the backup and they did their starter(s). And won doing it.

That is the difference a coach makes.

 

[Nextyearfordaboyz]

On 5/25/2023 at 6:40 PM, Dallas94Ware said:

I do get what you are saying, thousand percent. Back to back 12 win seasons is .. Wow. 

But was that truly his doing? That is why I disagree with ya bud.

Surrounding yourself with quality people and empowering them to succeed is arguably job 1A for any leader.

You can nitpick if you’d like. You can be upset about the lack of playoff success. But you can’t take away what he’s accomplished, which is double digit wins in back-to-back seasons since 1996. 

 

[WizardHawk]

👍🍻

[plan9misfit]

On 6/2/2023 at 8:51 AM, WizardHawk said:

👍🍻

And that number will keep growing as long as Dak is under Center.

[Nextyearfordaboyz]

1 hour ago, plan9misfit said:

And that number will keep growing as long as Dak is under Center.

Sometimes you’re ridiculous. 

[Nextyearfordaboyz]

4 minutes ago, Nextyearfordaboyz said:

Sometimes you’re ridiculous. 

Dallas has been to 6 divisional games since 1996. 3 of them were with Dak as starting QB. All 3 were lost by 1 possession, and at least two of those could have gone in Dallas’s favor if not for a couple of fluke plays.

But yes. It’s so simple as to boil all our problems down to Dak. And so clear that we are incapable of making one extra play to advance to an NFCCG because he is our QB. 

[plan9misfit]

9 hours ago, Nextyearfordaboyz said:

Dallas has been to 6 divisional games since 1996. 3 of them were with Dak as starting QB. All 3 were lost by 1 possession, and at least two of those could have gone in Dallas’s favor if not for a couple of fluke plays.

But yes. It’s so simple as to boil all our problems down to Dak. And so clear that we are incapable of making one extra play to advance to an NFCCG because he is our QB. 

Considering how miserably he played in those games, yes, he has a lot of culpability. Getting there is one thing; being invisible and a non-factor for 50+ minutes of a 60 minute game is something else. I don’t know why people continue to the deny the blatantly obvious issue that Dak is not a QB who is capable of putting a team on his back and winning when it matters. He has continually come up small, and everyone makes 101 excuses as to why it happened. The fact remains: he is not capable of winning a Super Bowl.

Edited June 4, 2023 by plan9misfit

[DaBoys]

Fwiw PFF named QB play our biggest weakness coming into 2023. They had run defense as our biggest weakness last season. 

[Nextyearfordaboyz]

13 hours ago, plan9misfit said:

Considering how miserably he played in those games, yes, he has a lot of culpability. Getting there is one thing; being invisible and a non-factor for 50+ minutes of a 60 minute game is something else. I don’t know why people continue to the deny the blatantly obvious issue that Dak is not a QB who is capable of putting a team on his back and winning when it matters. He has continually come up small, and everyone makes 101 excuses as to why it happened. The fact remains: he is not capable of winning a Super Bowl.

Straw man, straw man, straw man.

My contention is not that Dak has no culpability. You said there is no chance Dak can lead us to an NFCCG. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t, but it’s the certainty of your remark that makes it ridiculous.