Dallas Cowboys need upgrades at head coach and quarterback

After another embarrassing effort offensively, hard questions must be answered regarding key components towards the future success of the Dallas Cowboys.

It’s been eleven plus years since the Dallas Cowboys had a real head coach roam the sidelines. To this day, one of the most popular idioms Bill Parcells ever spoke reigns true.

You are what you are. The Dallas Cowboys are what they are. One last time, for those in the back row … The Dallas Cowboys are what they are!

This team masquerades as a good team only to reveal their true identity when things matter the most. You can blame the players but you’d be fooling yourself. The reason this team constantly underachieves is because of what remains the same.

Jerry Jones is an incompetent owner. Jason Garrett is the butt of every joke when it comes to head coaching. Scott Linehan isn’t qualified to run your child’s Pee Wee football or flag football squad, let alone a pro football team’s offense.

This three-headed monster derailed the careers of Tony Romo, Jason Witten and Dez Bryant. They are currently ruining Ezekiel Elliott, Zack Martin and Tyron Smith‘s shot at historical greatness.

Simply put, until Jones stops involving himself beyond cutting checks and actual football people run this operation, your Dallas Cowboys will be all sizzle and no steak. The latest example of this was a pathetic display on National television against the Tennessee Titans.

Coming off of a bye, at home on prime time with Witten back in the building for the first time since his retirement, it was all right there for the Dallas Cowboys.

They received the ball to start the game, only to watch quarterback Dak Prescott over throw a wide open Cole Beasley in the end zone. Trading seven for three is a common occurrence for a Jason Garrett-led team. Only this time, kicker Brett Maher missed a field goal and Dallas came up empty on their first possession.

The defense, bound and determined to make up for it, got the ball right back for the offense. Dallas scored and things felt good. The defense doubled-down and did it again. Only this time, Prescott did what Prescott always does. Snatching defeat from the jaws of success, he made the dumbest decision possible and gave the ball right back.

Instead of 21-0, the Cowboys were dealing with a 7-7 tie early in the second quarter and never led again. After another mind-numbing loss, Dallas is 3-5 and all but done in 2018. This team, record-wise is only better than Detroit, Arizona, San Francisco and the Giants. At this time, no one in their right mind would argue any differently head-to-head.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to obvious, simple facts. You cannot consistently win in the National Football League with below average head coaching and a below average quarterback.

Look around the league right now. Of the 32 teams, how many of them would you say the Dallas Cowboys have the advantage against, head-to-head, when it comes to coaching. Three, four maybe?

As for Prescott, make all the excuses you want, but there is an obvious reason he was available until round four. Poll 100 people who watch football with any regularity and ask them to name the ten best quarterbacks in the league right now. The answers will almost invariably look like this: Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Pat Mahomes, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, Phillip Rivers, Jared Goff, Russell Wilson, and Carson Wentz.

Of those ten, only Brady, Brees and Wilson were not chosen in the first round. Brady landed with the best head coach in the history of football. Brees went at the top of the second round and Wilson went in the middle of round three.

Facts are facts. Prescott is, at best, an average quarterback who needs a lot of help around him to succeed. He is not getting that help from the coaching staff which is the most important for him to become a viable starter in this league.

Monday night’s loss cements what most have known for quite some time. Until the Dallas Cowboys fire Jason Garrett and Scott Linehan, things will not get any better. At this point, all talk about Prescott and an extension should be shelved.

You cannot win in the National Football League without a better than average quarterback/head coach combo. Dallas gets below average grades, at best, at both spots. Until both are upgraded, there is no reason to bother investing time, love and energy into this franchise.