Werder/Mortensen - Linehan could join Cowboys staff

Linehan could join Cowboys staff


Updated: January 24, 2014, 7:32 PM ET

By Ed Werder and Chris Mortensen | ESPN.com



Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and coach Jason Garrett are considering resolving their disagreement over who should be the team's offensive playcaller with a compromise: They're discussing hiring former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, according to league sources.

One source who expects Linehan to be hired speculated he could have the title of passing game coordinator while also being designated the Cowboys' playcaller. If so, Linehan would become the third different offensive playcaller in three seasons in Dallas, following Garrett and current offensive coordinator Bill Callahan.

In a setup one source described as "strange" and "dysfunctional," Garrett ceded play-calling authority to Callahan a year ago in what appeared to be a change mandated by Jones, who is also the team's general manager.


At the Senior Bowl this week in Mobile, Ala., Jones said Callahan and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin would both return following a third consecutive 8-8 season in which the Cowboys failed in Week 17 to win the NFC East. While Garrett also said he expected both coordinators to return, he specifically left open the possibility that roles could be changed.

Until last season, Garrett had been the only playcaller for quarterback Tony Romo since Garrett -- a former Cowboys backup quarterback -- returned to the organization in 2007 under coach Wade Phillips.

According to a source, Garrett attempted to hire Norv Turner as his offensive coordinator and playcaller a year ago when Jones expressed dissatisfaction with Garrett's performance in the role. But Jones decided against the move late in the process, apparently believing Turner's offensive philosophy was too similar to that of Garrett. Jones preferred to empower Callahan at the expense of his head coach.

But during the Cowboys' bye week this season, Garrett moved to ensure he would be directly involved in the play-calling process. He reconfigured game-day coaching responsibilities so that Callahan called the play to Garrett on the sideline -- rather than quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson -- and then Garrett relayed the call to Romo on the field.

Among the reasons Garrett imposed himself in the communication process was because he wanted to regain a measure of control and felt he didn't have a significant role on game day without being directly involved, according to sources. Garrett had always communicated with Romo and wanted to interact with his quarterback throughout games as Sean Payton does with Drew Brees in New Orleans and Mike McCarthy with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.

Linehan was fired along with coach Jim Schwartz following a 7-9 season in Detroit. He was the offensive coordinator for the past five seasons, designing game plans and calling the plays for quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receiver Calvin Johnson and running back Reggie Bush.

The Lions ranked sixth in total offense last season, third overall in 2012, fifth in '11, 17th in '10 and 26th in '09.

Linehan was previously coach of the St. Louis Rams, where he went 11-25 from 2006 to '08 before being fired. Linehan has been offensive coordinator with the Miami Dolphins and the Minnesota Vikings.

Garrett and Linehan have worked together previously. When Linehan was offensive coordinator of the Dolphins, he hired Garrett as his quarterbacks coach, at least partly on the recommendation of three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Troy Aikman. Linehan later described Garrett as one of the smartest people he's ever met.

A college quarterback at Idaho, Linehan went to training camp with the Cowboys in 1987 as an undrafted rookie before being released.

Linehan and Cowboys executives did not immediately return phone messages for comment.

I like it, but will it work?

How big of a clusterfuck is the relationaship between the coaches and the front office? The owner/GM makes the HC give up his playcalling and hands it to the OL coach. But then he gets to maybe hire his guy to call plays, but then not really. Then we might hire this other guy the HC likes while the former playcaller (who the HC always praised) gets a demotion. WTF?

Seriously, how weird must the dynamic between Garrett and Jerry be? What is that really like?

I like the offensive mind, but its amazing how much help our offensive mastermind of a head coach needs in putting together an offense.

Garret calling the shots

cockstrong said:

Garret calling the shots

Keep reading...

More like Jerry giving his little red headed "ward" every single thing he could possibly give.

ThoughtExperiment said:

How big of a clusterfuck is the relationaship between the coaches and the front office? The owner/GM makes the HC give up his playcalling and hands it to the OL coach. But then he gets to maybe hire his guy to call plays, but then not really. Then we might hire this other guy the HC likes while the former playcaller (who the HC always praised) gets a demotion. WTF?

Seriously, how weird must the dynamic between Garrett and Jerry be? What is that really like?

Keep reading...

What bugs me is that the running game is finally fixed, the red zone improved and the points per game increased. All three of those things have been complaints against Garrett since 2008. If Garrett allowed running plays in his scheme, Dallas would have been 13-3 last year, running out the games with huge gashes of run the clock yards. But now that things are on the upturn with things that Jason could not do, he is going to move away from Callahan and move to an ally of his scheme in Scott Linehan.

The irony is that he wants the same means and results that Sean Payton and Mike McCarthy have but they run a WCO and he does not.

FFS

Linehan is more pass happy than Garrett.

Linehan took over DETs play calling in 2009.

Since then he's been a 61.9% pass guy.

Since 2009, Dallas has passed 59.9% of the time.

While Detroit has run 360 more plays in that 5 year span, they have only 42 more running plays. 152 of those extra plays came this year largely because Dallas ran the fewest offensive plays in the NFL.

If you were to give the Dallas offense an equal number of plays as Detroit had in 2013, Dallas would gain almost 57 running plays and would move Dallas head of Detroit in number of running plays called since 2009 even though Detroit would still have over 200 more overall plays ran.

In 2012, Linehan called 740 passing plays and only 391 running plays. In the last 3 years he's averaged 680 passing plays per season which is more than Dallas' single-season high of 658 in 2012, which is also the only season Dallas has broken 600 attempts.

Dallas' second highest pass attempt total in 2013 of 586 attempts 1 more than the number of pass attempts from Linehan's lowest season in 2009 when he had 585 pass attempts.

Lions rush attack, prior to this year has been god fucking awful. Their offensive line has been equally as shitty as ours.

Saying they pass more than we pass doesn't mean much to me. Anything that changes what we are doing works for me. We are cleaning house next year anyways-wtf does it matter ?

This staff and the contracts are pretty much set up for a clean sweep after next season. It's blatantly obvious that Dallas is throwing in the towel and gearing up for 2015 already.

UVAwahoos said:

This staff and the contracts are pretty much set up for a clean sweep after next season. It's blatantly obvious that Dallas is throwing in the towel and gearing up for 2015 already.

Keep reading...

I do not see it that way. I see it as Jones conceding whatever he can to try to save his pet Jason. He wants his little trainee to succeed so much.

I also think Jerry is cleaning house. Giving Jason one more try

GloryDaysRBack said:

Giving Jason one more try

Keep reading...

But some see it as a Garrett "power play".

If so, he'd be the craftiest lame duck head coach in the history of ever.

I don't see a lot of downside. I think Callahan is an idiot (a sentiment apparently shared by people like Tim Brown and Jerry Rice, both of whom have trashed him out publicly). Nobody else has wanted Callahan as a playcaller since he left Nebraska, except for the ****** GM Jones.

Jones should have just shut his fucking trap when Garrett wanted to hire Norv last yr.

I'm just curious as to what Garrett contributes to this team.

Jon88 said:

I'm just curious as to what Garrett contributes to this team.

Keep reading...

He masterminds the process Jon. We've been over this.

Again, in this scheme, Linehan is not calling a play, he is calling for a condition to run and a condition to throw based on what the defense (presents) gives. Since there are usually more receivers than there are running back options on any given down, the conditions will always favor the pass. One thing that Linehan has been accused of that may ring familiar is to have enormous talent on his team and not being able to convert points and victories from that talent. He just makes a lot of yards.

OK

Omegasupreme said:

Again, in this scheme, Linehan is not calling a play, he is calling for a condition to run and a condition to throw based on what the defense (presents) gives. Since there are usually more receivers than there are running back options on any given down, the conditions will always favor the pass. One thing that Linehan has been accused of that may ring familiar is to have enormous talent on his team and not being able to convert points and victories from that talent. He just makes a lot of yards.

Keep reading...

This whole run-pass option system is bullshit. Just think about it.

If the defensive alignment at the LOS dictates the play the offense runs, and assuming defensive coordinators actually, ya know, watch film, the defense is going to be able to pick up on how to force us into a run or force us into a pass. Make us pass by stacking the box... make us run by defending the pass.