Depending on who you talk to, Dak Prescott is a bit of an enigma right now as a professional quarterback in the NFL. Some people believe he is already the Dallas Cowboys franchise QB, while others still need to see more from him before he gets anointed with that title. It’s a debate right now with no clear answer, which is why Year 3 will be a big season one way or another for the young QB.
I don’t know where you personally stand on this topic, but I think I’m a little on the fence. I like Dak Prescott, but I would like to see more consistency from him than I’ve seen so far. As a rookie he was simply fantastic, but last season he seemed to take a step back. That may not be entirely his fault, but before I anoint him as Dallas’ franchise QB, I would like to see someone who can carry this team when the chips are down.
With all of this rolling around in my mind, I started wondering what would happen if Dak Prescott isn’t the Dallas Cowboys franchise QB? What would that mean for the Cowboys moving forward and what would be the ramifications in the short term?
Obviously, nothing good would come if Dak Prescott isn’t the real deal. But, let’s dive into this little deeper. Below are a few of the short-term ramifications I think would happen if Prescott falters this season.
Jason Garrett Gets Fired
I think the first thing that would happen if Dak Prescott fails to become the Dallas Cowboys franchise quarterback is Jason Garrett would likely be fired as the head coach. We all know that Garrett is walking on thin ice right now with the Cowboys, so how the team performs in 2018 probably correlates with his job security.
Garrett went all in with Prescott in 2016. At first he didn’t have much of a choice because his options were limited when Tony Romo was hurt in preseason and again when Kellen Moore sustained his untimely injury. But, he decided to stick with the rookie all season, even when Romo returned. You can’t really fault him for that decision, but it definitely impacted the future of the organization.
I think as Prescott’s 2018 season goes, so does Garrett’s. Garrett’s head-coaching job may not entirely depend on Prescott’s success this season, but it could have a huge impact on whether or not his coaching career continues in Dallas.
New QB Search Begins
Again, if Dak Prescott proves to not be the long-term franchise QB, the Dallas Cowboys once again have to try and find someone who is. We all know how long it took them to replace Troy Aikman, and I doubt any of us want to live through that nightmare again.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to believe that either Cooper Rush or Mike White are the long-term answer right now. Neither have really proven anything in the NFL and no one is really for sure if they can even be successful as Prescott’s backup this season. There is more questions surrounding them then No. 4.
To makes matters worse, there aren’t a lot of veteran QBs around the league they can snatch up. Even if there were, that would likely be a short-term solution. The best way to find a franchise QB is to draft one. But, the Cowboys aren’t likely going to have a draft pick high enough to select one of the top QB prospects. That means they would have to move up in the draft, which would require a lot of draft equity. Even then, nothing is guaranteed.
Cowboys Take Giant Step Back as a Franchise
If Dak Prescott is indeed a bust, this would severely set back the Dallas Cowboys as a team and franchise. This may be a young team, but they are built to win a championship relatively soon. They have all of the pieces to do so, if Prescott is the real deal.
They have one of the best offensive lines and running backs in the league, but without a quarterback to operate the offense, it means diddley squat. That’s why the quarterback position is arguably the most important one in the NFL. It’s why they are drafted so highly and paid an extraordinary amount of money.
This would really set the coaching staff back as well. Like I mentioned earlier, Jason Garrett and his coaching staff would likely be looking for another job, which means an almost entirely new set of coaches would be coming in. Unfortunately, new coaches rarely succeed right away in the NFL. It takes them a few years to not only put their system in place, but to get their players to buy into it as well.
