MARCH 8 MONEY MOVE The Cowboys have as expected converted a portion of guard Zack Martin’s salary, thus clearing $13 million by “flipping the switch” and moving his same money to future years.
The move – which costs nothing but is simply about bookkeeping – should push Dallas toward being cap-compliant for the March 11 start of the NFL business year.
The Cowboys have long-planned this action, as they have with other moves, including a cap-helping extension for Dak Prescott, though those negotiations are seemingly in limbo at this time.
MAR 5 SCHULTZ SIGNED Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz seemed to once again be a prime candidate for the franchise tag this offseason.
However, for the first time since his rookie deal, Schultz’s future is secured for the long term, with the former Cowboy signing a new three-year $36 million deal with the Houston Texans on Tuesday.
Schultz, who came to the Texans as a free agent last offseason from the Dallas Cowboys, signed a one-year $6.25 million deal with Houston and performed admirably, catching 59 passes on 88 targets for 635 yards and five scores in 15 games with eight starts.
FEB 24 COMMANDERS TO COWBOYS The Cowboys have made another hire to their coaching staff. … and once again, guys are trading offices between here and Washington.
The Cowboys have hired Cristian Garcia to serve as their defensive quality control coach. In the 2023 season he helped coach the defensive backs coach.
He’s the second coach the Cowboys have taken from the Commanders after they hired Jeff Zgonina to be their defensive line coach. And of course, the switches back and forth are led by Dan Quinn, who had been the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, leaving to take the Commanders head-coaching job and then bringing with him Joe Whitt Jr. and Sharrif Floyd.
Garcia finished his playing career at Florida in 2017 as a team captain.
FEB 20 PHILBIN’S BACK The Raiders are hiring an old hand – and a Mike McCarthy guy – to their staff.
Former Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin is the guy, as he will serve in Vegas as their new senior offensive assistant, per NFL Network.
Philbin worked as the Dallas O-line coach for a time and most recently was an Ohio State senior analyst. But now Philbin is back in the NFL to offer his experience to the staff of first-year full-time coach Antonio Pierce.
FEB 14 LYNN TO DC – Dan Quinn has just hired another big name – and another guy with Cowboys ties – to his coaching staff in Washington.
The Commanders are adding Anthony Lynn as their run-game coordinator. … and Lynn, 55, brings with him a wealth of experience that includes a stint as Dallas running backs coach.
Lynn was the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers from 2017-20 and for the last two seasons has been the assistant head coach for the 49ers, who just lost in the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Lynn was born in DFW and continues to maintain a family home in Frisco … but like Quinn, he’s a Dallas guy turned DC guy now!
FEB 8 ‘I’M NOT THE GM’ Why is Mike McCarthy still the coach of the Dallas Cowboys? It may be a question that fans are still asking after a third-straight 12-win season ended with an early playoff exit. It was also a question recently posed to the Cowboys’ all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith:
“Because I’m not the GM,” Smith said Thursday, according to Andrew Perloff.
In other words, Emmitt isn’t exactly endorsing McCarthy’s retention.
In the initial aftermath of the Cowboys’ embarrassing loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wildcard game, it seemed possible that team owner Jerry Jones would part ways with McCarthy as rumors of Bill Belichick’s firing in New England lingered.
However, following a meeting between the pair, Jones decided it was best to bring McCarthy back for his fifth and potentially final season in Dallas as his contract expires next year.
FEB 7 A NEW CANDIDATE The Cowboys have added to their list of new defensive coordinator candidates with by scheduling an interview with New York Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel.
Marquand is scheduled to interview Thursday, ESPN was first to report.
McAdoo was most recently the offensive coordinator of the Panthers. Before that he was a Cowboys consultant.
JAN 26: ‘GET AWAY!’ No, not “get away” from the Cowboys. “Get away” from it all … just for a little bit.
That is the advice that Troy Aikman tells CowboysSI.com he would offer to Dak Prescott after what the Hall of Famer termed a “shocking” failure in the playoff at the hands of the underdog Packers.
Watch the Video Visit above for the full context of Aikman’s point, which includes him stating his belief in Prescott – “I am a big fan of Dak. I still believe his best days are ahead of him,” Aikman said – and his reply to our query about advice he’d offer.
“Get away!” Troy said with a chuckle. “Get away from everybody and regroup.”
Mailbag: Time to be aggressive in free agency?
At first we heard talk of the Cowboys going all-in, but now I’ve been reading that fans shouldn’t expect any big free-agent signings. Does this team need to be more aggressive in free agency? Why choose not to be if they are truly all-in? If I’m correct, the last big free agent they signed was Brandon Carr back in 2012. – Ronald Melendez/San Antonio, TX
Nick Eatman: Does the team NEED to be more aggressive? Yes, they need to be. But, they won’t be because they really can’t. The salary cap is real and it’s really a problem this year and will be a bigger one next year. Yes, the Cowboys could use a few extra veteran players to help but I just don’t see it happening. It’s not only against their usual approach, but I think this year is even worse. In the past, they couldn’t sign a lot of other guys but at least would keep most of their own free agents. This year, I think even that will be a struggle.
Patrik: I’m on record as calling their bluff here regarding the “all in” statement because, to me, it does involve landing a whale or two in the first wave of free agency from outside of the building. When you look at the current roster, there is more than one gaping void that needs to be addressed — e.g., linebacker — that I would like to see attacked in both free agency as well as in the 2024 NFL Draft. The names in this year’s free agency pool at that position alone makes it unfathomable that none would land in Dallas because, if none do, I’m hard-pressed to see how this offseason would be any different from the previous ones in how the team approaches things. Granted, I was a huge fan of how they moved one year ago (Brandin Cooks, Stephon Gilmore), so let’s not take anything away from that high level of finesse. But if they want to get over this hump, it is in fact going to take them being actually “all in”, though it’s beginning to sound more and more like they have a different definition of that phrase than do I or you. And, so, we wait …
