Cowboys discuss bringing in Scott Linehan for playcalling

[Parcells4Life]

After watching tape its a PERFECT match for Garrett. Lots of empty sets , single back and heavy pass. If Dunbar is healthy Linehan will use him.

To the average fan it's going to seem like the same old same old in terms of how the offense looks. Detroit also had 3 TE to choose from in Pettigrew, Fauria and Scheffler at one point. They didn't last the season.

This isn't a huge deal to me except it will probably ease the tension since this is a much closer match in philosophies than Garrett/Callahan

 

[casmith07]

The Lions struggles were more of a factor of Jim Schwartz being a buffoon and Matthew Stafford being hot garbage than the play-calling. They ran the ball a lot. Lots of 100+ all purpose yard games from Reggie Bush and Joique Bell.

I'd like it.

 

[NEODOG]

If they let him be the passing coordinator, it will be a blessing on our ROUTES. He will put pressure on the safety. NOW, how we run is a different animal.

 

[Zordon]

Just slide him into Rich Dalrymple's spot and be done with it.

he's currently in training for that role as well.

The Dallas Cowboys believe they have a potential solution for internal disagreements over the direction of their offense.

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Friday that the Cowboys have discussed hiring former Detroit Lionsoffensive coordinator Scott Linehan, per a source informed of the Cowboys' plans. It's not clear what position he would coach, but calling plays is one option and the two sides have made contact, according to Rapoport.

ESPN's Ed Werder and Chris Mortensen first reported the news.

One source told ESPN that Linehan could have the title of passing game coordinator with the designation as the team's playcaller. The source expects Linehan to be hired.

Jason Garrett ceded playcalling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Callahan last year, but the owner-driven arrangement led to internal dysfunction as the Cowboyszigged and zagged to their third consecutive 8-8 finish. Werder speculated that Linehan would serve as a compromise choice for Jerry Jones and Garrett.

Linehan was among the Lions assistants let go after Jim Schwartz was fired this month. Under Linehan, the Lionsfinished sixth, third and fifth in total offense over the past three seasons. Linehan is known for his pass-heavy approach -- he's unlikely the man to solve theCowboys' balance issues on offense in recent years.

Linehan interviewed with the Baltimore Ravens on Monday and is believed to be a finalist for their offensive coordinator vacancy.

Jones said at the Reese's Senior Bowl this week that both Callahan and defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin will return in 2014. They also just signed their kicker to a seven-year, $22.5 million deal. This is a hard team to figure out right now.

passing game coordinator/play caller? what the hell are we doing?

 

[kristie]

i did a podcast on this:

https://soundcloud.com/kristie-wilson-1/a-new-playcaller-for-the

 

[Picksix]

So Jerry's trumping Garrett's authority?

Has Jerry actually given Garrett authority to trump?

 

[Picksix]

I agree, Jason wants to hang on to his $3 -$4 million per season at any cost, that is his vision and he is realizing it.

Well that's one way to look at it. Don't really agree, but even if that's true, a man is trying to hold onto his job. What a terrible thing.

 

[rojan]

Im starting to warm up to this idea for a few reasons

- Lineham and Garret share the same philosophy which should make game planning and adjustments much easier..I don't think it was fair or smart for Bill Callahan to call plays for an offence that was so different than what he traditionally runs.

- I, however, loved the zone running scheme and overall O-line improvement that Bill brings to the team and hopefully he can stay on as OLine coach/running coordinator

- And my favourite reason, this is a Garret move which shows that he isn't the puppet that people are making him out to be

 

[windward]

We have had success with a run and pass game coordinators before. Most notably under Parcells.

 

[bark]

Hmmm. I thought the problems on this team were on the defensive side of the ball. We are bringing back the whole defensive coaching staff so they must feel that injuries were the major cause for the ineptitude. We seemed to be ravaged by injuries the last couple of yrs. I would have preferred a new conditioning coach personally since that seems to be where the problem lies.

As far as this hire, I would like the idea of more screens and more use of the TE attacking the seams.
Attacking more vertically seems like a great concept on paper but usually means more hits on the qb and more ints. I'm not sure this is good for tony at this stage of his career.
And finally, there must be a real disconnect happening with Garrett and Callahan . If they make this move, I don't know how or why Callahan would stay.
I'm taking a what can it hurt approach and let's see how it works out. Now about that defense

 

[Blast From The Past]

seriously? He ran the LIONS into an ice berg and was a big part in the whole staff being fired. That offense was notorious for costly turnovers and penalties...LOTS of procedure penalties mainly. Clearly they were poorly coached and he was the man responsible for it.

Having played football myself both as a lineman and as a rb I can truthfully say any and all penalties I received was not the head coaches fault. I was coached not to false start, hold and crack block but if I did that was all on me. I have a feeling whoever and whatever Jerry Jones does or doesn't do is a catalyst for criticism by the fanbase.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Unreal...absotutely STUNNING. I live in Michigan and this guy was drummed out of Detroit. He couldn't make it work with a very talented offense in Motown led by Calvin Johnson and Matt Stafford. What a colossal CLOWN move by JJ.

lol very talented Matthew Stafford

 

[theebs]

lol very talented Matthew Stafford

You don't think stafford is good?

This has been repeated in this thread and I think it's funny.

To make linehan look better people are bagging on stafford. The guy is a great quarterback.

 

[Alexander]

You don't think stafford is good?

This has been repeated in this thread and I think it's funny.

To make linehan look better people are bagging on stafford. The guy is a great quarterback.

He is not a great QB. If he were, Caldwell would not have been hired to "fix" him.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Unreal...absotutely STUNNING. I live in Michigan and this guy was drummed out of Detroit. He couldn't make it work with a very talented offense in Motown led by Calvin Johnson and Matt Stafford. What a colossal CLOWN move by JJ.

I agree. Watched Linehan for years.

Get used to throw, throw and throw....all from the shotgun on every single down.



YR

 

[jobberone]

he's currently in training for that role as well.

passing game coordinator/play caller? what the hell are we doing?

Sounds a bit like what Parcells had here. Does that change your opinion?

 

[jobberone]

I agree. Watched Linehan for years.

Get used to throw, throw and throw....all from the shotgun on every single down.



YR

We should pass the ball when that is working and the game situation including their D calls for it. We should run the ball when that's appropriate. I'm not hung up about the balance as that can and will change from game to game according to many variables. Look at NE. The goal is to have a versatile offense that can take what's given to them and make the defense have to constantly guess what's next.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

You don't think stafford is good?

This has been repeated in this thread and I think it's funny.

To make linehan look better people are bagging on stafford. The guy is a great quarterback.

If you say so but I think his numbers are very, very inflated due to being able to toss anything high in Johnson's area and have him catch it. We saw it when we played them several times and its a common theme for that offense over the past several years. He throws WAY too many picks and that has been the case for the last several years. His YPA stinks, his completion percentage is garbage. Because of this his qb rating stinks.

I don't know much about Linehan beyond recognizing the name but if you are trying to sell a guy that doesn't win and stinks at most every metric then you will need to look elsewhere.

 

[jobberone]

If you say so but I think his numbers are very, very inflated due to being able to toss anything high in Johnson's area and have him catch it. We saw it when we played them several times and its a common theme for that offense over the past several years. He throws WAY too many picks and that has been the case for the last several years. His YPA stinks, his completion percentage is garbage. Because of this his qb rating stinks.

I don't know much about Linehan beyond recognizing the name but if you are trying to sell a guy that doesn't win and stinks at most every metric then you will need to look elsewhere.

I agree. Here's his numbers. But I'll admit I haven't watched the guy play much so most of my impression is off the stats.


Att. Com Yds TD INT NFL Rating PFF Rating
Total "aimed" passes 595 371 4647 29 19 89.5 26.4
Thrown away 17
Hit as Threw 2
Batted Passes 17
Spikes 3
Dropped Passes 58
Total 634 371 4647 29 19 84.1 22.0

 

[Gaede]

On board with this.

However, just another example of us doing everything we can to 'mentor' Garrett in running the offense.

Reeves, Sparano, Callahan, and now Linehan.

How many offensive coaches do we need to bring in to teach our offensive coach how to coach offense?!