Dallas Cowboys: Kris Richard already making an impact

Despite being hired in January, new defensive coach and passing game coordinator Kris Richard is already having an impact on the Dallas Cowboys.

The Dallas Cowboys made some nice additions to their team this offseason. Free agents like wide receiver Allen Hurns, offensive tackle Cameron Fleming and defensive end Kony Ealy figure to be key to the Cowboys’ resurgence in 2018. You can also add rookies like linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, guard Connor Williams and wide receiver Michael Gallup to that list.

But according to Dallas’ defensive coordinator, Rod Marinelli, an acquisition on par with any that the Cowboys made this offseason is the hiring of former Seattle Seahawks coach Kris Richard. A former NFL safety himself, Richard was the defensive backs coach for the Seahawks when the team fielded one of the most feared secondaries in the NFL nicknamed the Legion of Boom.

The 38-year old coach spent the past three seasons in Seattle as the team’s defensive coordinator. Looking to make a culture change, the Seahawks parted ways with Richard in January. And the Cowboys quickly hired him as their new defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator.

For Dallas, getting someone of Richard’s caliber was key to unlocking the potential of a defensive secondary that recently experienced a major youth revolution. Last offseason, the Cowboys elected to part ways with longtime starters in safety Barry Church plus cornerbacks Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr.

In their place, Dallas drafted defensive backs Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and Xavier Woods. This young trio of defenders played significant snaps for the Cowboys last season. But the presence of Richard should allow this group to take yet another step in their development.

According to one of the Cowboys longest tenured defensive veterans, Richard’s intense personality, high character and infectious personality are already making an impact in Dallas.

"“[Richard’s] just an incredible coach on many levels,” Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee told the team’s official website. “You walk in a room and you hear him teach, you hear him speak, you’re sitting there trying to soak everything in. And when he’s talking about football, the knowledge that he has, the X’s and O’s, the details that he preaches, it’s amazing how much he’s given us.”"

One of the first moves Richard has made in Dallas is to switch former first round selection Byron Jones from safety back to outside corner. Jones has underwhelmed during his time with the Cowboys, showing little to no football instincts. This latest move is likely his last chance to live up to his lofty draft status.

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If Kris Richards can lift this defensive secondary to new heights, connecting the dots to him as the eventual successor to Rod Marinelli in Dallas is pretty easy. Despite only being a part of the Cowboys coaching staff for less than four months, he has already made quite an impression in Big D. Richard will certainly be putting his stamp on this defense in 2018 … and possibly beyond.