Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Rod Marinelli Will Stay in Dallas

Even though reports of a supposed interest by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had been making the rounds, it looks like Rod Marinelli will stay in Dallas after all:

The #Cowboys and DC Rod Marinelli have reached an agreement on a contract for him to stay, source said. Big one for Dallas.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2015

Marinelli had been instrumental in bringing back the Cowboys defense to some form of respectability after it had finished last in the league in yards allowed last year.

As Ian Rapoport writes this is a big win for the Cowboys, on a number of levels. For one thing, the Cowboys are retaining the services of a top-notch defensive coordinator. An underrated aspect of the signing is the impact Rod Marinelli has on the players and their willingness to stay or sign on in Dallas. Also, if the Cowboys manage to give Marinelli more talent on defense, maybe the Cowboys will play into February next year instead of just January.

Marinelli's deal will be for three years, more details of the deal will probably be announced within the next hours or days.

League source confirms to @caplannfl that Rod Marinelli has a 3-year deal to remain with Cowboys.

— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) January 13, 2015

In parallel news, the team announced that Jason Garrett and the rest of the Cowboys' coaching staff will serve as the coaches at the Pro Bowl, which is a good sign that the team will be able to retain most if not all of the coaches it wants to retain.