There was a lot of hype surrounding the Dallas Cowboys ahead of the 2020 season, and it was justified. After all, they finally parted ways with longtime head coach Jason Garrett after another disappointing year, and made a huge splash in adding Mike McCarthy, who wasted no time cleaning house on the coaching staff. Few were spared -- Leon Lett, Doug Nussmeier and Kellen Moore being the notable three -- and when the Cowboys were "blessed" enough to land CeeDee Lamb in the 2020 NFL Draft, the hype hit fever pitch. The wheels began falling off immediately thereafter, however, with the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately cancelling the entire offseason and preseason with the exception of a truncated and socially-distant training camp.
Things only continued downhill from there, with a slew of injuries to All-Pro and Pro Bowl players decimating any hopes the Cowboys had of running roughshod over the NFL. By the time they lost Dak Prescott to a season-ending injury in Week 5, it was already discovered McCarthy had made a grave error in how he constructed his defensive staff, for while his offense was No. 1 in the league, his defense was a laughingstock. Some late-season heroics in December made them viable in Week 17, but they quickly got reminded they're not worthy of making the playoffs this time around.
With work now underway on the 2021 reboot, here's how the Cowboys can answer their biggest questions and fix what was broken in 2020, for the coming season and far into the future:
Step 1: Sign Dak Prescott to a long-term deal
Take three. ACTION.
For a third consecutive offseason, the Cowboys and Prescott will sit at a table and try to hash out the details on a long-term deal that will inevitably make him the highest paid quarterback in the NFL -- a point that stands when assessing how the new money breaks down on the historic deal the Kansas City Chiefs gave Patrick Mahomes. And with DeShaun Watson being awarded his four-year extension with the Houston Texans in 2020, all of the financial framework is now laid bare in Dallas, with Prescott's value both on the field, in the locker room and off the field (e.g., marketing prowess leads to merchandise sales, etc.). The only question remaining is how the salary cap will look this offseason and how that will impact if and when Prescott lands his long-term deal. Jerry Jones readily admits Prescott couldn't possibly have more leverage than he does right now, and while he'll be in a Cowboys uniform next season no matter what, whiffing a third time on the franchise QB -- and after assuring Kellen Moore a deal would land on Prescott -- would be a terrible look for the Joneses, and one that will officially see Prescott facing unrestricted free agency in 2022.
And if things go as planned during the season, the Cowboys won't sniff a top pick next year so, yes, Prescott has nearly all the leverage -- on all possible fronts. Stop quibbling over a fifth year, give him the four he's asking for and enjoy having an elite quarterback on a lethal offense for the foreseeable future, instead of shattering your locker room because you're too lazy to move salary cap and draft pieces around like you know you can.
Step 2: Fire Mike Nolan ... and others?
Nolan never came off the hot seat once he sat on it.
Sure, the Cowboys defense led the league in takeaways in December after being one of the worst in the league in that category for much of the year, but the fact remained the unit was still allowing the most yards in the NFL and it took a slew of takeaways for them to have a chance at winning games. This isn't to demean the importance of takeaways, but rather to point out at a certain point, you're going to have to consistently stop teams from rattling off long drives that end in touchdowns. The defense was statistically the worse in the history of professional football under Nolan, and there are handicaps that he and head coach Mike McCarthy will attempt to use in convincing Jerry Jones to keep the former on board in some capacity, even if it's not as defensive coordinator.
A more proven and prepared mind sits on staff in George Edwards, who could be viewed as both the efficient and potent reset button Jones is staring at, but it might also come with changes that involve additional defensive position coaches. And after seeing his defense give up three touchdowns in the first half of a must-win regular season finale, which included a lack of both preparedness and discipline by the Cowboys, it stands to reason a time-cognizant Jones is upset and completely non-committal to the future of Nolan right now. The defensive scheme and its installation was a full-on disaster, and doesn't warrant a mulligan, even when considering the COVID-19 pandemic.
Step 3: Fix the secondary
There are two reasons to be ecstatic about the Cowboys secondary.
One is rookie second-round pick Trevon Diggs, who graded out phenomenally for an impressive first year that saw him wildly outplay the six cornerbacks drafted ahead of him. The other is safety Donovan Wilson, a second-year talent who couldn't carve his way onto the field until veteran Darian Thompson had one too many bad plays for McCarthy to stomach (and still, it took too long to make this call, in my opinion). With Diggs and Wilson unleashed, the Cowboys have their CB1 and starting safety who can flex as either strong or free, but there's nothing else outside of them to write home to mother about. Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and Xavier Woods are all officially free agents and, at best, the team might bring back one or two on a one-year deal for draft insurance -- assuming the player(s) agree to it.
Speaking of the draft, having the 10th-overall pick in April, it's a perfect chance for the Cowboys to find a complement to Diggs and potentially double dipping in the secondary to grab one for Wilson in the next round. The draft needs to be heavy on rebuilding the defense, to the point no one would or should think twice if the Cowboys used every one of their 10 (projected) picks on that side of the ball. They probably won't, but if they did, I wouldn't blame them in the least after what we all witnessed this past season and considering how seemingly set they are on offense (refer to the importance of point No. 1 again).
Step 4: Get honest at LB
"Watch the film." -- Jaylon Smith
We did, and it required a shower afterward. What it also requires is the Cowboys to swallow their pride, look into the nearest reflective surface and ask themselves if they're truly set for the future at linebacker. Smith is hyper-confident he'll be with the Cowboys in 2021, two years after signing a contract extension, but that's not a foregone conclusion. The fact is Smith is coming off the worst season of his once-promising NFL career, his career arc having gone from miraculous football comeback to Pro Bowler to questionable starter to unjustifiably arrogant backup-caliber linebacker in the span of only four seasons (the first having been a redshirt year due to his devastating knee injury).
Smith isn't a total loss though, and there's reason to keep him around, even if it's no longer as a starter. The Cowboys can't ignore the obvious durability issues on Leighton Vander Esch, and even if Sean Lee returns, he'll be 35 in a few months and can't possibly be viewed as a long- or even a mid-term solution at the position.
That leaves the promise of Francis Bernard and Luke Gifford, but neither could convince McCarthy to utilize them defensively and Gifford did himself no favors with a two-game suspension. Joe Thomas provides a nice veteran presence, much like that of Lee's, but he's a free agent this offseason. Maybe ditching Nolan will help fix Smith, especially if Edwards (who has a ton of experience coaching LBs) takes the reins, but the fact it's a question mark -- along with that of LVE, Bernard, Gifford and Lee -- means Dallas has some soul-searching to do in March and April.
Step 5: Beef up the defensive interior
Signing Dontari Poe showed the Cowboys are at least finally valuing the defensive interior.
The experiment with Poe failed miserably, but it allowed McCarthy to figure out why Antwaun Woods was giving the role as starting nose tackle, and takes pressure off the Cowboys to find an NT1 in 2021. Depth is very much an issue there and at 3-tech (right of center) though, but there's good news in that regard as well, considering the promise of both Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore.
Other than those notables, however, there's a lot to be figured out. They like the play of Justin Hamilton, but he also faltered at times, and there is no one other than those mentioned who are worth listing as key rotational pieces going forward, based on film and reps from the 2020 season. They'd love to see undrafted free agent Ron'Dell Carter take the next step and there's a great chance he will, but the NFL is a business of contingency and they have another issue to account for in the fact Tyrone Crawford might've played his last snap for the Cowboys (and maybe in the NFL).
The interior of the defensive line is worth addressing in both the draft and free agency, which will likely include a return of Gerald McCoy, but his age and durability will be a question going forward. Get some talented youth to bolster the interior, because ... blockbuster ... trades like the one that brought Eli Ankou to Dallas can't be the formula -- ever.
Honorable mention: Be patient
To be clear, this isn't implying the Cowboys should just sit tight -- otherwise this point would be the totality of this column. It's instead to point out the cavalry is on the way, at least offensively. Prescott is on schedule to report to offseason conditioning on time and with no concerns on his ability to return to prime form, and he'll be joined by starting tackles La'El Collins and Tyron Smith along with Zack Martin, who missed the back end of the season with a calf injury that pushed him to injured reserve. Additionally, having enjoyed seeing the progression of tight end Dalton Schultz as a starting caliber player, the team can now look forward to a tandem that features him and incumbent starter Blake Jarwin -- Jarwin himself returning from a season-ending injury.
With the offensive line again intact and Prescott under center with his full plate of weapons, the offense can get back to cooking on a weekly basis. If not for the historically-bad defense in 2020, the Cowboys would've started much better than 2-3 in their first five games, which is all the evidence they need to push the accelerator to the floor to build a defense that can match serve. From there, some special teams tweaks that include waving goodbye to punter Chris Jones for a well-performing Hunter Niswander adds sprinkles to the ice cream.
And sprinkles are for winners.
