Dallas Cowboys shake up coaching staff, fire O-Line coach

The Dallas Cowboys weren’t done making changes over their bye week. On Monday, they decided to shake up their coaching staff, firing Paul Alexander.

This offseason, a quiet but important change was made within the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff. While flashier additions were made to the staff, like adding wide receiver’s coach Sanjay Lal and defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator Kris Richard, there was also a change for their offensive line.

The Cowboys former offensive line coach, Frank Pollack, left for the greener pastures of Cincinnati to join the Bengals this offseason. Pollack filled the role of their previous longtime offensive line coach, Paul Alexander, who had been with the Bengals’ organization for a whopping 27 years.

A well-respected coach around the league, Alexander quickly found himself employment with the Cowboys. Suddenly, with a group consisting of three Pro Bowlers, the longtime O-Line coach thought he had landed a dream job in Dallas. It soon became a nightmare.

Prior to the start of the regular season, the Cowboys lost All-Pro center Travis Frederick due to his diagnosis of having the autoimmune disease Guillain–Barré Syndrome. Frederick is currently on Injured Reserve and will likely miss this season completely.

In his place veteran center Joe Looney has played well, but he’s certainly not a Pro Bowler. Combined with the loss of Frederick, the Cowboys have a rookie in second-rounder Connor Williams starting at left guard. Plus both of their starting tackles, Tyron Smith and La’el Collins, have struggled so far this season under Alexander.

According to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, there have been issues with Alexander attempting to teach different hand techniques. Some of the linemen have struggled with the change, while others refused to mess with it entirely.

The biggest regression has been the play of Collins. Last season, the fourth-year lineman made the switch from left guard to starting right tackle. After a slow start, Collins ended the season playing at a near Pro Bowl level. But under Alexander, the 25-year old has regressed and now leads the team in pressures (20), hurries (16), and penalties (seven, two declined).

On Monday, the Cowboys announced they have fired Alexander. In his place, Dallas will promote assistant offensive line coach and former player Marc Colombo. The Cowboys have also hired former O-Line coach Hudson Houck, a 29-year veteran of the NFL, to an advisory role.

Colombo spent six years playing for the Cowboys from 2005-2010. He’s been on the coaching staff for the last four seasons. Dak Prescott is the third most sacked quarterback in the NFL currently, having been dropped 23 times so far this season.