Dallas Cowboys: Kellen Moore, should he stay or should he go now?

In 1981, The Clash released the song, “Should I Stay or Should I Go” (YouTube link for when this definitely gets stuck in your head like I did mine for hours) and probably never thought it would relate to the Dallas Cowboys. But the last 18 months have been weird, so let’s just get weirder with it.

What’s weird, you may ask? The discussion around the fate of current offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore, and his future with the Cowboys. Without wasting time to get to my thoughts, let’s get that out of the way now. I, unfortunately, think Kellen Moore is gone after this season regardless of playoffs, NFC Championship, even Super Bowl.

Would I prefer to move on from Mike McCarthy and keep Moore for the long game? If push comes to shove, yes, but I don’t believe that option is on the table. I’ll also touch on the other side of that coin and dive into why he could stay, one of which may be a crossroads for fans. In the end, I’ll offer my gut feelings on some possible destinations he could land.

Let me know what your thoughts are. Do you think he stays in Dallas? Does he leave? If so, where? Excited to hear what some other Cowboys fans think in the face of this impending situation.

Why would Kellen Moore leave the Dallas Cowboys?

First, in an odd way, I think the further the Cowboys make it this season, the more likely we are to lose Moore this upcoming offseason. Moore has been dialing it up through the first four weeks and is still getting talked about by the national media. If he dials up these play calls in January, even February, in the national spotlight, other teams’ general managers will be making that phone call.

The NFL is an offense-driven league and fans clamor for excitement on offense. Moore brings that. He has shown adaptability from slinging it Week 1 in a shootout to a ground and pound attack against fronts he felt a mismatch on. Moore has it all in his bag of tricks and doesn’t call plays scared. He calls plays to go win the game rather than trying to not lose the game as evidenced by the speed option play call between two running backs to ice the game.

Secondly, head coach Mike McCarthy is only in year two at the helm. With the Cowboys looking at controlling their destiny in regards to reaching the playoffs, I do not see a way that general manager Jerry Jones parts ways this quickly.  McCarthy’s first year feels like a “hall pass” due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an odd offseason to take over in the midst of.

Lastly, Kellen Moore is one of the hottest names as an up-and-coming head coach. Last year he was in serious talks with Boise State to return to his roots where he became a bit of an NCAA legend and become their head coach.

Moore signed an extension with the Cowboys in deciding to stay, but it feels that time is limited. Expect that sort of courting for Moore to only increase this upcoming offseason and come from NFL teams with vacant head coaching jobs.