Every year after the Super Bowl, the mad dash for hot assistants begins. I am in the camp that no coaching moves should be made until the season is over so that all teams and coaches are on the same playing field. This might stop the absolutely asinine process of assistant coaches being able to interview for other jobs while their teams are still in the playoffs, potentially causing distractions (ahem...Jason Garrett, Tony Sparano), but also allowing them the opportunity to interview for all positions that opened up after the regular season ended. This happened once again this year, and some assistant coaches coming out of the Super Bowl have caused some interesting scenarios.
As reported yesterday, Gregg Williams was in talks to come to the Dallas Cowboys in some capacity. However ESPN reports that Williams has taken the Defensive Coordinator job in Jacksonville, a spot vacated by none other than our very own Dave Campo.
That came after Williams interviewed numerous times for the Redskins head coaching job in the past few weeks. He went from being a front-runner for the position to being fired in a matter of days.
This little bit is what concerned me about Williams. It wasn't so much the fact that he is not known as a 3-4 guy, but that he was unable to secure a job many thought him a shoe in for. Something was up in Washington, although I have a feeling it has more to do with the owner than Williams.
A good ol' Grizz hat tip to CTBoy who posted a diary about it here.
The hiring of Gregg Williams in Jacksonville seems to answer the debate as to whether the Cowboys should hire him or Dom Capers. To me, the obvious choice is Dom Capers. This is a man known as an innovator in the 3-4 defense, designing intense and confusing blitz packages from his days in Pittsburgh. He also commanded a highly effective defense in Jacksonville under Tom Coughlin. And there in lies the mystery. Steve Spagnuolo is interviewing for the Washington job, and if he is hired another vacancy opens up in the NFC East. The DMN reports that Dom Capers just might be the perfect fit.
That would open the coordinator position in New York. Cowboys candidate Dom Capers, who interviewed last Tuesday at Valley Ranch, was DC under Tom Coughlin in Jacksonville in 1999 and 2000. And contrary to the belief that he's strictly a 3-4 coach, Capers ran a 4-3 defense while serving under Coughlin, and one that held opponents to 13.6 points per game during the Jags' 14-2 season in '99.
This could be highly worrisome for the Dallas Cowboys, for if this is the way it works out, Dom Capers would have a highly talented and confident defense at his disposal. They still need to obtain some help in their secondary, but I have no doubt a coach like Capers would be able keep that group performing at a high level.
There are still a lot of pieces that have to fall into place for any of this to happen. The Dallas Cowboys are still looking for a linebackers coach, and seem to have their eye on former Bengals linebackers coach, Ricky Hunley. I'll be honest and say I really don't know much about Hunley other than I have never been that impressed with any Cincinnati linebackers.
A short blurb about it Here.
On a different note, 13 Cowboys are practicing this week for the Pro Bowl, more than any other team ever. It is fairly bittersweet, and debate rages on whether these players even deserve to go based on their lackluster performance late in the season. But my opinion is that this is the last chance we have to see our Cowboys play before the offseason truly kicks off, and we might as well see what we can get out of it. Later in the week, I'll have a short piece on the offensive and defensive players representing our team this weekend in Hawaii.
I have looked everywhere but I have not found any information on whether Romo plans on playing or not. The first practice was today and nothing has been officially mentioned as to his presence. I am going to assume he is there, but if anyone has information to the contrary, post in the comments.