Reaction from Colts reporters shows Cowboys made genius analytics hire
By Jerry Trotta
The Dallas Cowboys made sweeping changes to their coaching staff after last season.
The surprise turnover included cutting ties with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, running backs coach Skip Peete, senior defensive assistant George Edwards, offensive line coach Joe Philbin and assistant head coach Rob Davis.
Unexpectedly, the Cowboys made another notable in-house change before the draft when they parted ways with longtime director of football research Tom Robinson. Robinson held that title since 2014 and had been with Dallas since 2010, so it's clear the team wanted a new voice leading the analytics department.
On Wednesday, the Cowboys hired Colts Director of Football Research John Park to become their Director of Strategic Football Operations.
We're not going to pretend we have extensive knowledge on Park, but the reaction from Colts reporters indicates Dallas got a good one.
The Cowboys are hiring John Park from the Colts as their Director of Strategic Football Operations, per sources.
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) June 7, 2023
Park was the Director of Football Research with the Colts. He had been with Indianapolis since 2016.
Cowboys hire John Park from Colts as their Director of Strategic Football Operations
Park joined the Colts in 2017 shortly after they hired Chris Ballard as general manager. He started with the football research/analytics team before earning a promotion to Manager of Football Research and Strategy and eventually his most recent position as Director of Football Research.
Per ESPN's Stephen Holder, Park was instrumental in Indianapolis becoming one of the most analytics-driven teams in the league. He was the Colts' first analytics hire and specialized in multiple areas, including free agency, the draft and game day operations.
Big loss for Indy. Park was the Colts’ first data/analytics hire back in 2016 and helped elevate Indianapolis into one of the more data-driven organizations in the NFL. His contributions touched all areas, from gameday to free agency to the draft. (more) https://t.co/0sHHRue2V5
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) June 8, 2023
Holder added that Park was a huge "resource" for Chris Ballard and played a big role in the Colts' coaching search this offseason. Indy landed on now-former Eagles OC Shane Steichen; a hire that's received universal praise.
Given Park's influence on game day's, he had a big impact on former Colts head coach Frank Reich. Hired as the Panthers new head coach this offseason, Reich brought Colts senior football strategy analyst/game management George Li with him to Carolina.
In a perfect world, though, chances are Reich would have brought Li and Park with him on his new journey. Check out what Reich said about Park and Li before the start of the 2022 season. This is big-time praise.
Frank Reich on the @Colts analytics duo of senior football strategy analyst/game management George Li and director of football research John Park: pic.twitter.com/juq5SRUJG9
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) September 5, 2022
Park is regarded as a rising star in the analytics community and he presumably steps in as the Cowboys' highest-ranking analytics administrator.
The Cowboys have strived to be a more analytical-driven organization since Mike McCarthy was hired three years ago and Park's hiring seems to be a major stepping stone in that regard.
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