The Dallas Cowboys are the Alex Smith-era Chiefs. I stated this as a comment in a post, and, as I've been digging more into it, the more I can see similarities between the Cowboys, as currently constructed, and the Alex Smith-era Chiefs, specifically circa 2016. If the Cowboys see the similarities that I see, then thats great, because I think there's a way to build this team for great success in the near future. If I am right, which, from what I see, I think is probably close, then I think I have a vision for how to make the Cowboys similar to the current Chiefs. It won't be identical, but we can be similar IF the Cowboys see what I see. Below are some of the many similarities that I see. For the sake of this thread, I will limit the comparisons to three major ones.
Part I - Comparisons
Coaching - Andy Reid vs Mike McCarthy
Andy Reid and Mike McCarthy have a lot more in common than you might think. There was a time when Reid was thought to have poor clock management skills. A lot of the criticisms thrown at Mike McCarthy were once thrown at Andy Reid, who I think we'd all see as a great coach. I won't go into too many details of this as I have a thread about this. However, I will compare a few things. Firstly, they're from a similar Bill Walsh WCO (
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Walsh_(American_football_coach)). This means that they have similar philosophies. Secondly, if you watch the offenses of the 2016 Kansas City Chiefs and the 2023 (as this is the first year of Mike calling the plays) Cowboys, you can see some similarities. Below, I will show you week 1 of the Kansas City Chiefs game playing the then-San Diego Chargers and our week 4 game against the Patriots. I showed these videos to one of my roommates, who is a Chiefs fan. Observe the offenses:
If you notice, there are similarities in the ways these offenses are run. Specifically, notice the run patterns and some of the route combinations used. There are similarities that I see. My roommate who is a Chiefs fan noticed some of the similarities that I saw.
QB: Dak Prescott vs. Alex Smith
The QBs are very similar. Like Alex Smith, Dak is the type of QB who will keep you relevant, but will not lead you to much in the way of playoff success. You'll make the playoffs more often than not, but it will be frustrating because you expect more. Dak isn't the only QB to have a great record and blow a top seed. Alex Smith did too in 2016.
Tight Ends: Jake Ferguson vs Travis Kelce
I think Jake Ferguson has proven to be quite similar to Travis Kelce. If you watch the way he plays, he has a similar skillset. The measurables are similar with Jake (
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Ferguson) is 6'4" and 244 lbs, while Travis Kelce is 6'5" and 250 lbs. If you watch the two of them play, they're quite similar, and not just because they wear the same number.
The important thing is that we have pieces in place that, if you put the tape on of the 2016 Chiefs and the 2023 Cowboys, you can see similarities. So, now for why this is a good thing.
Part II - How to Fix it!
So, now comes my vision on how to fix the problem. How to turn the Cowboys into a "similar to Patrick Mahomes" era. Firstly, and I know some of you are going to hate this but please read the entirety of this so you understand what I'm saying. This is not to embrace mediocrity as some of you might say. Rather, it is like planting a seed that can grow into a tree. We must extend Dak's contract. I know a lot of you hate this, but, for the cap, we must. However, and I stress however, I would either make it a 3 year deal OR make it a deal that is long BUT has an out after 2-3 years AND allows for trades (just as the Chiefs did with Alex Smith when they dealt him to Washington). This allows us to extend the cap AND gives us an out for the important part. We then draft a QB to develop like the Chiefs did with Patrick Mahomes. The QB that I'm thinking is Michael Penix from Washington. I would let him sit behind Dak for a year or two to develop, sort of like what the Chiefs did with Mahomes behind Alex Smith. Oh, and I should note (in the interest of symmetry) the Chiefs also went a long time, prior to Mahomes, without drafting a QB in the first round. Their last 1st round QB was Todd Blackledge of Penn State (
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kansas_City_Chiefs_first-round_draft_picks) in 1983. They drafted Mahomes in 2017. Our last first round draft QB was Troy Aikman in 1989. It is now 2024. The time would uncannily similar (+- a few years) if do it this year. But, as it stands, let us go further with this.
I would have Penix sit for a year or two and develop. Given that he'd be a first round pick, he would have the 5th year option built into his contract. Plus, by having Dak, you don't have to tear down the team in a rebuild and have shoddy records. So, we could have a QB that a lot of teams would like to have, and we'd have the QB of the future on the roster. While we do this, we also should look at what we have. We have a player in Turpin who, if used creatively, can be similar to Tyreek Hill. We have actually an upgrade at WR in Lamb. We have a TE similar to Kelce. What we would need is a QB like Penix to develop. Once he's ready, we get him on the field, use the fact that we'd have an out in Dak's contract to try to trade him, and turn the offense over to Penix. In doing this and, if my vision (and I hope it is McCarthy's vision too) for the team ends up like I think it does, we could become the NFC version of the Chiefs.
I think this is how we go from where we are now to a team who is consistently competing for a championship. The best part for Jerry? He wouldn't have had to wait very long to build the roster, and he'd be able to pad his ego by saying his patience led to us finding a similar coach to Andy Reid, while he rakes in the money for having a champion.
