How effective has Will McClay been?

CowboyRoy

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certainly alarming to have him push for Taco

Lets remember something about McClay..............he has basically been surrounded by 3 idiots. Jerry, Garrett, Marinell for the last 8 years abouts. Just think how many good players we passed on because those 3 idiots didn't take his advice?
 

WillieBeamen

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yet the cowboys have had the highest number of probowlers in the past 10 years...hmmmm

and lets not forget Marinelli and Richard wanted Hill and Charlton!
1st off, the Cowboys are second in the number of pro bowlers over the past 10 years

2. We using the pro-bowl still to show how good a draft pick/player is? :laugh::laugh:

For example: Jaylon Smith did NOT deserve a pro-bowl nod last season. Frederick shouldnt have made it either

and you apparently skipped the first page. I destroyed that theory (McClay also wanted Charlton)
 

basel90

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Lets remember something about McClay..............he has basically been surrounded by 3 idiots. Jerry, Garrett, Marinell for the last 8 years abouts. Just think how many good players we passed on because those 3 idiots didn't take his advice?
marineli seems to have been terrible at player evaluations . isn't he the only coach to go 0-16?
 

xwalker

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I hear a lot of praise for Will McClay and his influence on jerry and stephen when it comes to draft selections . But do we actually know how effective he has been ? The latest draft picks have not been that great ( Gregory , Taco , Trysten Hill , LVE injury history etc ) ? Does he make the final decisions anyway ? Any inside knowledge or thoughts on McClay ?

The roster increased in talent starting in 2013/2014 while going from a completely maxed out cap situation to a very good cap situation (i.e. Better talent while paying less).

McClay does the dirty work and sets up the draft board. He tries to avoid changing the rankings based on character or medical issues. He highlights those as issues and he has a presentation ready for each play on draft day such that everyone can review the issues with the player. The final decision is made by Stephen Jones (since 2013/2014). They had similar rankings on Taco and TJ Watt with Watt above Taco in terms of talent ranking. Stephen was influenced by Marinelli on picking Taco but again the talent rankings were similar on the Cowboys board. The biggest issue with Taco turned out to be personality/character. They knew he had some issues in that area but the didn't give it enough focus. There is still no proof that Taco does not have the required talent. Watt has a huge edge in mental-makeup and plays in a different scheme. If Taco were to get "right with ball", physically he and DLaw when each was drafted had similar physical ability (Taco probably had more). DLaw worked hard in the weight room with the Cowboys and surpassed Taco but Taco is still young and could do something with the right coaches (Michael Bennett didn't wow many people early in his career).

We barely know anything about Hill other than what everyone knew at draft time which was that he had talent but needed more time to develop than some other players. If he was a ready-now player he would have been a 1st round pick with his physical talent (310 pound DTs that move like a DE but have the ability to play 1tech or 3tech get drafted early is they don't have some issue pushing them down draft boards. Contrary to internet gossip, Hill did NOT have behavior problems in college and both college coaching staffs considered him to have a high motor. He did have an issue because the new HC would not let him transfer. He loved the 1st coaching staff and did not like it when the new coaching staff said the previous coaching staff was all wrong in how they coached him. He continued to play more like the original staff had coached him. He was a 3-4 NT with that staff and focus on stopping the run. The new staff were the college version of Marinelli and wanted him to pass rush even if it meant not playing great run defense.

FYI, Hill was already know to be a guy that would take time to develop. Then Marinelli had him practice only at 3tech in the preseason and training camp. Once Hill played in real games, they used him at 1tech, not the 3tech position that he had practiced all off-season. They did it because of injuries at 1tech. They could have had M.Collins play more 1tech which he had done in 2017, but instead they just threw Hill in at 1tech. The game film (All-22) was not bad from a physical perspective; however, Hill did look lost at times and would get out of position against zone blocking. Any DL that gets out of position vs zone blocking will look silly because the OL catch the DL moving sideways and the DL has no leverage if the OL catch them just right, especially if it's a double-team.

We as fans don't have access to the medical info on Vander Esch. The Cowboys have highly regarded Doctor's on consulting contracts. From a talent perspective they had a great assessment on Vander Esch.

Randy Gregory was the pick since 2013 that was most influenced by Jerry. Gregory was on the phone directly with Jerry multiple times during the draft. McClay had Gregory ranking very high (pardon the pun) from a talent perspective. It's up to Stephen Jones and Jerry to decide if the risk is worth it on a player like Gregory or Jaylon for a different reason. I doubt if McClay would draft either if he were a normal GM because those picks get GMs fired if they don't pan out.
 

Aven8

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McClays biggest strength is finding cheap FA’s IMO. He’s fantastic at that. But he’s way better than anything we’ve had in years. Two words folks, Larry Lacewell. :eek:
 

Risen Star

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drop what ? i decide when to end any discussion sir.

giphy.gif
 

basel90

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The roster increased in talent starting in 2013/2014 while going from a completely maxed out cap situation to a very good cap situation (i.e. Better talent while paying less).

McClay does the dirty work and sets up the draft board. He tries to avoid changing the rankings based on character or medical issues. He highlights those as issues and he has a presentation ready for each play on draft day such that everyone can review the issues with the player. The final decision is made by Stephen Jones (since 2013/2014). They had similar rankings on Taco and TJ Watt with Watt above Taco in terms of talent ranking. Stephen was influenced by Marinelli on picking Taco but again the talent rankings were similar on the Cowboys board. The biggest issue with Taco turned out to be personality/character. They knew he had some issues in that area but the didn't give it enough focus. There is still no proof that Taco does not have the required talent. Watt has a huge edge in mental-makeup and plays in a different scheme. If Taco were to get "right with ball", physically he and DLaw when each was drafted had similar physical ability (Taco probably had more). DLaw worked hard in the weight room with the Cowboys and surpassed Taco but Taco is still young and could do something with the right coaches (Michael Bennett didn't wow many people early in his career).

We barely know anything about Hill other than what everyone knew at draft time which was that he had talent but needed more time to develop than some other players. If he was a ready-now player he would have been a 1st round pick with his physical talent (310 pound DTs that move like a DE but have the ability to play 1tech or 3tech get drafted early is they don't have some issue pushing them down draft boards. Contrary to internet gossip, Hill did NOT have behavior problems in college and both college coaching staffs considered him to have a high motor. He did have an issue because the new HC would not let him transfer. He loved the 1st coaching staff and did not like it when the new coaching staff said the previous coaching staff was all wrong in how they coached him. He continued to play more like the original staff had coached him. He was a 3-4 NT with that staff and focus on stopping the run. The new staff were the college version of Marinelli and wanted him to pass rush even if it meant not playing great run defense.

FYI, Hill was already know to be a guy that would take time to develop. Then Marinelli had him practice only at 3tech in the preseason and training camp. Once Hill played in real games, they used him at 1tech, not the 3tech position that he had practiced all off-season. They did it because of injuries at 1tech. They could have had M.Collins play more 1tech which he had done in 2017, but instead they just threw Hill in at 1tech. The game film (All-22) was not bad from a physical perspective; however, Hill did look lost at times and would get out of position against zone blocking. Any DL that gets out of position vs zone blocking will look silly because the OL catch the DL moving sideways and the DL has no leverage if the OL catch them just right, especially if it's a double-team.

We as fans don't have access to the medical info on Vander Esch. The Cowboys have highly regarded Doctor's on consulting contracts. From a talent perspective they had a great assessment on Vander Esch.

Randy Gregory was the pick since 2013 that was most influenced by Jerry. Gregory was on the phone directly with Jerry multiple times during the draft. McClay had Gregory ranking very high (pardon the pun) from a talent perspective. It's up to Stephen Jones and Jerry to decide if the risk is worth it on a player like Gregory or Jaylon for a different reason. I doubt if McClay would draft either if he were a normal GM because those picks get GMs fired if they don't pan out.
Thanks for this detailed analysis. Seems there is a lot of management by committee going on. The Hill and Taco picks included. Seems he is not the one calling the shots.
 

Kaiser

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You sound like Mickey Spagnola with that kind of logic.

In what way? You realize McClay has been given other GM offers and Dallas increased his salary to keep him - right?

That's actually the opposite of "If he is so good, why is he available".
 

Manster_Mash

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Taco over Watt.

Triscuit over Thornhill.

The continued wasting of 2nd round picks.

I've seen enough.
 

JoeKing

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In what way? You realize McClay has been given other GM offers and Dallas increased his salary to keep him - right?

That's actually the opposite of "If he is so good, why is he available".
Do you not understand the "Rooney Rule" forces teams to interview minorities without any intention of hiring them? You don't know that anyone ever honestly wanted to hire him away from Dallas. But you go ahead and believe what you want to. lol Mickey logic, lol.
 

Kaiser

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Do you not understand the "Rooney Rule" forces teams to interview minorities without any intention of hiring them? You don't know that anyone ever honestly wanted to hire him away from Dallas. But you go ahead and believe what you want to. lol Mickey logic, lol.

Does the Rooney Rule force teams to make job offers? And force Dallas to up someone's salary to beat that offer?

Calling McClay a token interview is a lot sillier than anything Spagnola says.
 
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JoeKing

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Does the Rooney Rule force teams to make job offers? And force Dallas to up someone's salary to beat that offer?

Calling McClay a token interview is a lot sillier than anything Spagnola says.
That's Jerry's way of paying a valued asset the absolute least to keep them where they are. Saying that, I understand I just conceded your point, McClay is in demand by other teams.
 

Wood

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I hear a lot of praise for Will McClay and his influence on jerry and stephen when it comes to draft selections . But do we actually know how effective he has been ? The latest draft picks have not been that great ( Gregory , Taco , Trysten Hill , LVE injury history etc ) ? Does he make the final decisions anyway ? Any inside knowledge or thoughts on McClay ?

He had good 2016 draft and was nailing 1st rounders for while so that reputation was carrying him. But last few drafts have not been good. Some of that was letting Marinelli in the war room and he was utterly disastrous at projecting defensive players. With how Dallas doesn't really spend big money in FA the draft is crucial. Next year Dallas has several extra compensatory picks so McClay really needs to nail this draft and next year or I think change happens.
 
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