Ever since Mike McCarthy was acquired as the organization’s ninth head coach, the Dallas Cowboys have assembled quite the coaching staff for 2020. Kellen Moore will return as the team’s offensive coordinator and will have total control over play-calling duties. In his first year pulling the offensive strings, Moore produced the NFL’s top-ranked offense which included the second-leading passer, fourth-leading rusher, and eight-leading receiver.
Joe Philbin, who was McCarthy’s offensive coordinator in Green Bay, will perform the role of assistant head coach/offensive line coach. Two other former McCarthy assistants, Scott McCurley and Jeff Blasko have been added to the staff as well. The former will have a role in coaching the linebackers, while the latter will assist the aforementioned Philbin with the offensive line.
John Fassel, who spent the previous eight seasons with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams, will be the team’s new special teams coordinator. During his time with the Rams, Fassel had 15 players named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. Now, he’ll look to turn around a unit that was one of the league’s worst in 2019.
Skip Peete, who was the team’s running backs coach from 2007-2012, has been brought back in the same role. He’s worked with former Cowboys running backs Julius Jones, Tashard Choice, Felix Jones, Marian Barber, and DeMarco Murray.
Yesterday, it was announced that a long-time assistant would remain with the organization going forward. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, Leon Lett will return as the team’s assistant defensive line coach.
Lett has been in this same role since 2011, making the upcoming season his 10th as an assistant in Dallas. He’s worked with such names as former All-Pro and future Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware and fellow All-Pro DeMarcus Lawrence.
He will work alongside new Defensive Line Coach Jim Tomsula, who spent the previous three years as the defensive line coach for the Washington Redskins, after spending eight years in the same role with the San Francisco 49ers.
Also added to the coaching staff is Mike Nolan, the team’s new defensive coordinator. Nolan has spent time in the same role with the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, and Atlanta Falcons. Also, he has plenty of experience coaching linebackers. He’s groomed such all-pros as former 49er great Patrick Willis and Demario Davis in 2019 with the New Orleans Saints. Now, he gets to work with pro-bowlers Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch, and possibly Sean Lee if he returns.
One thing is for certain when the Cowboys kickoff the 2020 season, they’ll be prepared to play with this staff leading the way. Now, we’ll see if that guidance gets the Cowboys back to the playoffs.
