Kellen Moore’s tenure as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator has ended.
His successor has already been determined.
The club and Moore made a so-called joint decision to part ways, and teams in the NFL looking for a coordinator are aware of Moore’s status, several people familiar with the outcome told The Dallas Morning News. Head coach Mike McCarthy will assume in-game duties following Moore’s departure, a person with knowledge of the reorganization said.
Moore’s position on the workforce has dominated discussions between McCarthy, owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones at The Star over the past 48 hours. Replacing Moore as the game caller was only part of the equation. The goal was to see if the Cowboys could improve the spot.
McCarthy is the only coach on the current team who lives up to that expectation. McCarthy won a Super Bowl calling plays in Green Bay, but he was reluctant to do so when he took the job in Dallas three years ago, saying he wanted to keep the same system and mechanics to make quarterback Dak comfortable as possible to make Prescott.
The idea was that familiarity is the best path for Prescott to continue growing as a quarterback. But that season, Prescott suffered a career-high 15 interceptions and threw two in the playoff loss to San Francisco. There was no progress.
The current offensive staff build suggests the Cowboys will be looking outside of the organization to fill a non-game calling coordinator role. Quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, whose contract has expired, is also likely to fall victim to this change of direction.
Moore, who has one year left on his contract, just interviewed for the Carolina head coaching position that went to Frank Reich. Moore would be an attractive candidate for several of the offensive coordinators available in the league.
The club issued a press release on Thursday, ahead of McCarthy’s end-of-season press conference, listing six managers whose contracts would not be renewed. If a decision had to be made about Moore, some wondered why it wasn’t announced at this time.
The reason: Moore applied to Carolina for the job as head coach. He and McCarthy met just before Thursday’s press conference. The two didn’t have a chance to chat and conduct Moore’s assessment until Friday.
When McCarthy was asked directly in that press conference whether Moore would return as coordinator, he dodged the question.
“I really don’t want to play this game today,” the Cowboys head coach told reporters. “It’s been a long few days.
“Kellen Moore, like the rest of the coaches, will be evaluated. Each trainer is rated. The evaluation takes more than a day.”
The Cowboys averaged 27.5 points in fourth place in the NFL during the regular season. They did so despite Prescott missing five games with a broken thumb on his throwing hand.
Dallas led the league last year with an average of 31.2 points and a franchise-record 530 points.
So why is the organization moving on? One reason is the disconnect between regular season production and the playoffs.
The Cowboys averaged just 14.5 points in their two postseason losses to San Francisco over the past 13 months. Dallas scored just six points and failed to find an end zone in the second half of their 19-12 divisional round loss to the 49ers to end this season.
Another reason is the slump in Prescott’s performance. His 15 interceptions were the league’s worst total, though he missed five games with a broken thumb on his throwing hand.
Prescott was drafted by the Cowboys in 2016. He immediately moved up the depth chart in training camp when Moore, the team’s backup quarterback at the time for Tony Romo, broke his leg early in camp.
Moore did not play that season, but he worked closely with the rookie throughout the season and was credited with helping him adapt to the pro game. Moore retired at the end of the next season and was asked by then-coach Jason Garrett to join his staff as Prescott’s quarterbacks coach.
When the offensive coordinator job became vacant at the end of the 2018 season, Prescott worked to get Moore the job. McCarthy had never worked with Moore when he took over as the Cowboys’ head coach in January 2020. Moore wasn’t part of the same coaching tree, yet McCarthy made the decision to keep him as offensive coordinator.
Why? Chris Petersen was Moore’s college coach. McCarthy recalled how much Petersen thought of Moore as a player and his football spirit, coming from Boise State.
McCarthy also saw how Prescott had evolved from his rookie season and was quick to recognize the bond the quarterback had forged with Moore. As he sat down and spoke to Moore, he was convinced that it was best for the Cowboys if Moore stayed.
“I thought it was definitely for Dak’s best, and I told Dak that when we were talking football,” McCarthy said after taking over as Cowboys coach. “It’s his fault. I want him to have the same offense throughout his career.”
The criminal offense remains.
But for the first time in Prescott’s career with the Cowboys, Moore will not be with him. There will be a new voice in the quarterback’s ear.
And it will be McCarthy who names the pieces.
Staff Writer Michael Gehlken contributed to this report.
Catch David Moore and Robert Wilonsky as they co-host Intentional Grounding on The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310 and 96.7 FM) every Wednesday night from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. during the Super Bowl.
Twitter: @DavidMooreDMN
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