MMQB's Al Breer thinks it's Marinelli on thin ice

Bleu Star

Bye Felicia!
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One thing we need to keep in mine, Jerry, Stephen, and Jason will evaluate personnel for the entire season....... not the last few games, many of us have focused on.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/12/28/nfl-coaches-black-monday-firings-hirings


3. Cowboys set to make changes, too. Jerry Jones has publicly proclaimed that Jason Garrett’s job is safe for 2018. He stopped short of giving the same assurance for Garrett’s assistants, and the list of those who won’t be examined closely next week is very short. I’m told plenty of assistant coaches have expiring contracts, which makes this an easy time for Dallas to overhaul the staff, if it so desires.

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli is the coach who appears to be on the thinnest ice, in part thanks to an inability to adjust on a game-to-game basis, something that showed up against an Eagles team that is very familiar to Dallas, and in how the Chargers and Packers easily roasted the Cowboys’ man-to-man looks earlier in the year. The Cowboys turned over a lot of personnel on that side of the ball, of course, and that’s part of where the problems were, but there’s also a feeling not enough was done to prop up rookies like Jourdan Lewis and Chidobe Awuzie, who were quickly thrown in the fire.


As for the offense, if the changes aren’t as big on the sideline, I’d expect there will be some significant ones coming on the field. Dez Bryant clearly has lost a step, and his ability to extend his prime will come down to whether or not he can adjust his game the way Larry Fitzgerald did a few years ago—becoming better at the little things, and dedicating himself through training and nutrition. Even if he does that, it’s clear Dallas needs to get more explosive, with Bryant not the downfield threat he once was. I’d expect an effort to fix that, and maybe add some depth to an offensive line that clearly missed Ron Leary and Doug Free.

There’s plenty of work to do for the Jones family. The good news? The guys they’ve had in place, and that includes Garrett and personnel czar Will McClay, have done a pretty good job reworking the team as they’ve gone the past few years.
ZZZ
 

Chuck 54

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Okay, so the defense finally has some youth in the secondary, guys who appear to fit and prosper in the scheme, and there appears to be a legitimate pass rush on the rise. The real struggles came early with youth and injuries in the secondary, plus injuries and no depth at LB. The defense played its best down the stretch, but now we consider finally firing Miranelli?

I’ve hated what I’ve seen from his defense in the past, but now the players are starting to fit the scheme and philosophy and just needs a little more fine-tuning; this is the stupidest time to change coordinators....and what? Try to make these players fit a different scheme/philosophy. No way!

As for offense, I’d personally like to see Garrett return to calling the plays on offense, but Linehan was lauded as a genius who did everything right with Dak a year ago; I think he deserves another shot after the circus that was the Cowboys this year.
 

Doomsay

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One thing we need to keep in mine, Jerry, Stephen, and Jason will evaluate personnel for the entire season....... not the last few games, many of us have focused on.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/12/28/nfl-coaches-black-monday-firings-hirings


3. Cowboys set to make changes, too. Jerry Jones has publicly proclaimed that Jason Garrett’s job is safe for 2018. He stopped short of giving the same assurance for Garrett’s assistants, and the list of those who won’t be examined closely next week is very short. I’m told plenty of assistant coaches have expiring contracts, which makes this an easy time for Dallas to overhaul the staff, if it so desires.

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli is the coach who appears to be on the thinnest ice, in part thanks to an inability to adjust on a game-to-game basis, something that showed up against an Eagles team that is very familiar to Dallas, and in how the Chargers and Packers easily roasted the Cowboys’ man-to-man looks earlier in the year. The Cowboys turned over a lot of personnel on that side of the ball, of course, and that’s part of where the problems were, but there’s also a feeling not enough was done to prop up rookies like Jourdan Lewis and Chidobe Awuzie, who were quickly thrown in the fire.


As for the offense, if the changes aren’t as big on the sideline, I’d expect there will be some significant ones coming on the field. Dez Bryant clearly has lost a step, and his ability to extend his prime will come down to whether or not he can adjust his game the way Larry Fitzgerald did a few years ago—becoming better at the little things, and dedicating himself through training and nutrition. Even if he does that, it’s clear Dallas needs to get more explosive, with Bryant not the downfield threat he once was. I’d expect an effort to fix that, and maybe add some depth to an offensive line that clearly missed Ron Leary and Doug Free.

There’s plenty of work to do for the Jones family. The good news? The guys they’ve had in place, and that includes Garrett and personnel czar Will McClay, have done a pretty good job reworking the team as they’ve gone the past few years.
fail
 

NumOneQB

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I would take Marvin Lewis as the DC. Maybe Jerruh will dust off that ol’ Garrett-top play he used on Wade and give Marvin the backstabbing knife to replace him in 2019? Not advocating Marvin Lewis for HC but how ironic (and funny) would that be if Garrett went out like that?
 

hank2k

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Okay, so the defense finally has some youth in the secondary, guys who appear to fit and prosper in the scheme, and there appears to be a legitimate pass rush on the rise. The real struggles came early with youth and injuries in the secondary, plus injuries and no depth at LB. The defense played its best down the stretch, but now we consider finally firing Miranelli?

I’ve hated what I’ve seen from his defense in the past, but now the players are starting to fit the scheme and philosophy and just needs a little more fine-tuning; this is the stupidest time to change coordinators....and what? Try to make these players fit a different scheme/philosophy. No way!

As for offense, I’d personally like to see Garrett return to calling the plays on offense, but Linehan was lauded as a genius who did everything right with Dak a year ago; I think he deserves another shot after the circus that was the Cowboys this year.
Next year's coordinators: Offense Norv, defense Ray Horton.
 

Roadtrip635

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Overall, I think Marinelli has done a good job with what he has been given, but it's time for a change. It doesn't matter how well the defense has played during a game, does anybody have confidence the defense will stop a game winning drive at end of games? I'm tired of seeing teams march right down the field in critical moments. I'm tired of seeing 3 man rushes, DBs giving 10yd cushions, and soft zones and hoping that the other team makes a mistake instead of trying to make plays. I'm tired of seeing DBs not turning their heads to make a play on the ball. I know Sean Lee is a great player, but he will get hurt and I'm tired of this defense collapsing without him. I don't care how great Lee is, one defensive player shouldn't be worth a double digit point swing.

This entire coaching staff needs to go, not just the defensive staff. These coaches can be good at times, but will never be quite good enough. JG has been here long enough to see that he's not the one to lead this team to a Super Bowl. Linehan did a good job last year with Dak, but we need someone else to help Dak take the next step.
 

Verdict

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One thing we need to keep in mine, Jerry, Stephen, and Jason will evaluate personnel for the entire season....... not the last few games, many of us have focused on.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/12/28/nfl-coaches-black-monday-firings-hirings


3. Cowboys set to make changes, too. Jerry Jones has publicly proclaimed that Jason Garrett’s job is safe for 2018. He stopped short of giving the same assurance for Garrett’s assistants, and the list of those who won’t be examined closely next week is very short. I’m told plenty of assistant coaches have expiring contracts, which makes this an easy time for Dallas to overhaul the staff, if it so desires.

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli is the coach who appears to be on the thinnest ice, in part thanks to an inability to adjust on a game-to-game basis, something that showed up against an Eagles team that is very familiar to Dallas, and in how the Chargers and Packers easily roasted the Cowboys’ man-to-man looks earlier in the year. The Cowboys turned over a lot of personnel on that side of the ball, of course, and that’s part of where the problems were, but there’s also a feeling not enough was done to prop up rookies like Jourdan Lewis and Chidobe Awuzie, who were quickly thrown in the fire.


As for the offense, if the changes aren’t as big on the sideline, I’d expect there will be some significant ones coming on the field. Dez Bryant clearly has lost a step, and his ability to extend his prime will come down to whether or not he can adjust his game the way Larry Fitzgerald did a few years ago—becoming better at the little things, and dedicating himself through training and nutrition. Even if he does that, it’s clear Dallas needs to get more explosive, with Bryant not the downfield threat he once was. I’d expect an effort to fix that, and maybe add some depth to an offensive line that clearly missed Ron Leary and Doug Free.

There’s plenty of work to do for the Jones family. The good news? The guys they’ve had in place, and that includes Garrett and personnel czar Will McClay, have done a pretty good job reworking the team as they’ve gone the past few years.

Dez isn't going to do anything to improve his game because in his mind he is still the greatest of all time.
 

Verdict

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Overall, I think Marinelli has done a good job with what he has been given, but it's time for a change. It doesn't matter how well the defense has played during a game, does anybody have confidence the defense will stop a game winning drive at end of games? I'm tired of seeing teams march right down the field in critical moments. I'm tired of seeing 3 man rushes, DBs giving 10yd cushions, and soft zones and hoping that the other team makes a mistake instead of trying to make plays. I'm tired of seeing DBs not turning their heads to make a play on the ball. I know Sean Lee is a great player, but he will get hurt and I'm tired of this defense collapsing without him. I don't care how great Lee is, one defensive player shouldn't be worth a double digit point swing.

This entire coaching staff needs to go, not just the defensive staff. These coaches can be good at times, but will never be quite good enough. JG has been here long enough to see that he's not the one to lead this team to a Super Bowl. Linehan did a good job last year with Dak, but we need someone else to help Dak take the next step.


The game has passed Marinelli by.
 

LatinMind

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When i think about Dallas Cowboys reporting i never once thought about Breer.
 

Beast_from_East

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Its so hilarious that old man Rod has been picked to be the sacrificial lamb for Garrett.

Has 30% of the cap, a secondary full of rookies, and holds Seattle in an elimination game to under 150 yards.

Meanwhile the offense has a three game stretch where they cant score more than 10 points and cant score a single TD in a win or go home game

Yea, lets fire the DC since he is the real problem here...................A new DC will jump start this offense like nobody's business next year.:thumbup:
 

arglebargle

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When i think about Dallas Cowboys reporting i never once thought about Breer.
During his year in Dallas, Breer was, by far, the best football reporter in the Metroplex. He may still have a line in to some folks at the Cowboys.
 

Dodger12

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Quick. Tell us about the time Jerry didn't get the coach he wanted.

Stop with the no coaches want to be here. It's simply not true.

Tom Donahue and Norv who both balked at Jerry's terms. Jerry would have to make some concessions to get a real HC like he did with BP.
 

Jake

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Tom Donahue and Norv who both balked at Jerry's terms. Jerry would have to make some concessions to get a real HC like he did with BP.

Jerry's most unhappy years have been with Jimmy and BP. He didn't buy the Cowboys to be an owner. He bought them to be "a football guy" and he's still trying to prove he can win a title his way. No one outside of Jerry and Barry thinks they accomplished that in SB XXX. They won with Jimmy's holdovers, in spite of Jerry and Barry. Reality set in the following year.

Over two decades of mediocrity later, here we are...
 

Hawkeye19

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Okay, so the defense finally has some youth in the secondary, guys who appear to fit and prosper in the scheme, and there appears to be a legitimate pass rush on the rise. The real struggles came early with youth and injuries in the secondary, plus injuries and no depth at LB. The defense played its best down the stretch, but now we consider finally firing Miranelli?

I’ve hated what I’ve seen from his defense in the past, but now the players are starting to fit the scheme and philosophy and just needs a little more fine-tuning; this is the stupidest time to change coordinators....and what? Try to make these players fit a different scheme/philosophy. No way!

As for offense, I’d personally like to see Garrett return to calling the plays on offense, but Linehan was lauded as a genius who did everything right with Dak a year ago; I think he deserves another shot after the circus that was the Cowboys this year.

Eberflus will be your next DC. He keeps the scheme with maybe a few tweaks-- just a different leadership style. Best case scenario is that he is a young prodigy that gets the most out of the talent on the roster and capitalizes on the foundation that Rod built. Worst case is that he's a JAG and we're looking for a new DC in 2019 (along with a new HC if we flame out again).

Bottom line is this: Rod is 69. It's time to pass the torch whether this was a good year for him or not.
 

WillieBeamen

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This team is a complete mess right now. The Defense has been a problem for years now, so im ok with letting Marinelli go, but now the offense is just as bad if not worse.

How about do a full house clean, and bring in a head coach that knows what hes doing.
 

Doomsday

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Rod is doing a better job than Garrett and Linnehan

I was pretty down on Rod, but it seems pretty obvious that he is doing more with less.

Once Lewis and Chido got into the starting line up the defense started playing well.

They still need a piece or two, but unlike the offense, the defense appears to be trending up.
 
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Overall, I think Marinelli has done a good job with what he has been given, but it's time for a change. It doesn't matter how well the defense has played during a game, does anybody have confidence the defense will stop a game winning drive at end of games? I'm tired of seeing teams march right down the field in critical moments. I'm tired of seeing 3 man rushes, DBs giving 10yd cushions, and soft zones and hoping that the other team makes a mistake instead of trying to make plays. I'm tired of seeing DBs not turning their heads to make a play on the ball. I know Sean Lee is a great player, but he will get hurt and I'm tired of this defense collapsing without him. I don't care how great Lee is, one defensive player shouldn't be worth a double digit point swing.

This entire coaching staff needs to go, not just the defensive staff. These coaches can be good at times, but will never be quite good enough. JG has been here long enough to see that he's not the one to lead this team to a Super Bowl. Linehan did a good job last year with Dak, but we need someone else to help Dak take the next step.
I agree with pretty much everything said here.
 
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