The Dallas Cowboys could lose both assistant Scott Linehan and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli after their season ends.
The Dallas Cowboys won their division for the first time in five years and earned a home playoff game in the Wild Card round as a result. They’ve had arguably their best season in Tony Romo’s career on both sides of the ball. So naturally it’s time for other NFL teams to request interviews with their assistant coaches once their season ends. As a result of their success in 2014, the Cowboys are in danger of losing two of their top assistant coaches.
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NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that play-caller Scott Linehan “signed a one-year [deal] before the season, according to two sources, and there has been no renegotiation talk yet.”
If Linehan is let go, he’d be a highly coveted prospect as an offensive coordinator — the title held by Bill Callahan on the Cowboys staff this season. Linehan has head coaching experience with the St. Louis Rams, but given the result of that tenure, it’s hard to imagine he’ll draw a ton of interest in that regard.
Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli has also made quite a name for himself this season. The Cowboys defense was supposed to be a running laugh track this season and instead the unit played spirited football. They finished in the middle of the pack in terms of yards allowed, but that was plenty for the balanced Cowboys offense.
Like Linehan, Marinelli has yet to sign an extension with the Cowboys, which puts his future with the team in limbo. Both coach and team are surely focused on the playoffs in the present, but once the season ends, Marinelli could very well decide he’ll be better off elsewhere. He might even get a few inquiries for a head coaching vacancy.
At the very least, it’s reasonable to expect Rod Marinelli to play the field and see what kind of offers he can get, given how highly regarded he is right now for the work he’s done in Dallas.
Fortunately, the Cowboys appear to be a club poised to withstand the loss of a couple great minds. They have a solid structure of talent in place which lends itself to longevity. They have talent at key positions, a great offensive line, and a defense clearly more talented than it got credit for in the preseason.
As long as Jason Garrett can maintain the message and keep the structure intact, expect those coaching positions to be highly coveted if they become available.
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