Dallas Cowboys coaching staff confirms times have changed

For better or worse, one thing is certain. The philosophies and ways of the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff have changed.

Anyone who has ever been in a long-term relationship knows the effect time has on your feelings for that other person. How things progress permeates how much you are willing to accept. Fans of the Dallas Cowboys know this all too well.

Over the last decade, several thoughts and emotions were brought out by the (ironically) seemingly emotionless head coach Jason Garrett. Angst, annoyance, apathy, boredom, disdain, frustration. Life in Big D was a lot of things, most of which were not glaringly positive.

Back in January, as you can imagine, when news broke that Garrett would not be back, the instant feel of the 2020 season was going to be new. Of course, we all want better, but when you exit a long-term relationship, anything new seems better.

Optimism for this season, despite all the negativity of “real life” in 2020, surrounded the free agency period and the draft, as it normally does. Still, the head coaching change was to be over and again, the real thing to get hyped about.

With no preseason games and minimal glimpses into training camp, that hype stayed prevalent. That hype bred anticipation. It may have also led us all into unfair expectations as if the newness in of itself did not already do so.

Week one became the equivalent of seeing one kind of, sort of similar trait between our previous partner and new. With the suddenness of an unaccounted-for blitzing cornerback, all of those past-decade feels were back. Some of us felt duped. Some of us questioned why we were here again. Most of us were just plain angry.

The limited offense (almost no passes thrown beyond 20+ yards by quarterback Dak Prescott). The heavy run-on-first-down looks and subsequent failures of big hitters by running back Ezekiel Elliott. Absolutely no change in the lack of a pass rush despite new toys (Aldon Smith and Everson Griffen) and old favorites (DeMarcus Lawrence). Of course, most importantly, a loss.

The anger was so tangible, fans were actually wanting new head coach Mike McCarthy either replaced or to replace offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Fans were quick to tweet about how Elliott, Lawrence, and receiver Amari Cooper were overpaid. While the venom surely was mostly made from ten years of frustration more than just one game, the venom was still spewed.

Thankfully, there is more to a season than just one game. More importantly, last Sunday’s epic comeback win for the Dallas Cowboys should go a long way towards the healing process.

It could not be more clear that Mike McCarthy is vastly different from Jason Garrett. Be it the ease of which he green lights going for it on fourth down or signing off on not one, but two fake punts when he does not keep the offense on the field, times have changed.

Simply put, a win like the one the Dallas Cowboys pulled off against Atlanta would have never been possible under Garrett. It has nothing to do with the luck of recovering an onside kick. That happened under Garrett. It has nothing to do with overcoming bad play early on. That happened under him as well, albeit not enough in 2019, hence why we are here.

No, such a miracle would not have been conceivable because McCarthy is willing, almost ready, to turn over any and every rock before him. Sometimes it does not work (like shunning the field goal against the Rams or the two fake punts). Other times it might or will. At least the option is always on the table.

That gives this team a sense of confidence it never really had in the past. Even if things sometimes appear like it used to be, you can rest assured things are different. The hope is that different equals better. Whether or not it does remains to be seen.