After winning the NFC East in 2016, the Dallas Cowboys are going with continuity on their coaching staff.
The Dallas Cowboys liked enough of what they saw from their coordinators during their 13-3 season in 2016 to keep them around.
ESPN reports that the Cowboys have extended the contracts of offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia. Both Linehan and Marinelli would have seen their current deals expire at the end of this season had their contracts not been addressed.
Tireless NFL report Adam Schefter also took to Twitter to spread the news:
Cowboys extend contracts of Scott Linehan, Rod Marinelli, Rich Bisaccia: https://t.co/8zd9ND5sMy https://t.co/rMl04wDV8A
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 28, 2017
If continuity means anything in the NFL, and there are signs that it does, keeping Linehan around is close to a no-brainer. With him calling the plays in 2016, the Cowboys got Pro Bowl-caliber play from rookies at quarterback (Dak Prescott) and running back (Ezekiel Elliott), which is no easy feat. Changing OCs early in a young quarterback’s career can be a dicey proposition, so avoiding that while Prescott continues to develop is probably a good idea.
Extending Marinelli is perhaps a less obvious decision considering the Cowboys defense isn’t exactly one of the most feared units in the NFL, but given the lack of Pro Bowl talent outside of linebacker Sean Lee, he’s been spinning straw into silver if not gold the last three seasons. That’s a lot more difficult than simply plugging studs into certain positions and turning them loose.
What Linehan and Marinelli have in common is less than stellar stints as head coaches, with neither managing to win even 35 percent of their games. Still, they’re hardly alone in that regard, and a number of guys manage to find their true calling in the NFL at the coordinator level.
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The Cowboys are always going to make headlines in the offseason, but when the biggest story is what’s going to happen to a guy who wasn’t even going to start at quarterback, that’s not too shabby. If America’s Team derails a bit after a smooth 2016, it’s much more likely to be due to injuries or a bad draft than because of the men in charge of both sides of the ball.