Cowboys News & Notes: Cowboys Want To Keep All Coaches Intact For 2016

A player like Baylor DT Andrew Billings would be fantastic for Cowboys - Bob Sturm, SportsDay
Sturm looks at the Baylor defensive tackle and after review believes he would be a very good piece to the Cowboys puzzle.

But, then, with this strength and ability to stand his ground against double teams, what if that same player has impressive quickness and maybe even something that borders on speed?  There is a play in his 2014 season (below) against the Kansas Jayhawks when he dropped into pass coverage and was caught on a screen pass to the RB to his left.  Any DT in football would then be lost in the dust of this RB as he heads up field.  This certainly happened initially, but Billings - who weighs at the very least 310 - tracked down the RB to demonstrate his full arsenal of freakish physical tools.

Cowboys want their coaching staff back intact - Charean Williams, The Star-Telegram
Those looking for change along the coaching staff may be in for a boring offseason, The Cowboys, at least, plan to keep every coach intact.

The Cowboys also have not finalized contracts with safeties coach Joe Baker, defensive ends coach Ben Bloom, defensive assistant Turner West and offensive assistants Marc Colombo and Kevin Carberry, all of whom have expiring contracts. Executive vice president Stephen Jones said "our goal is to get them all signed back up."

Return of Rams shouldn't affect Cowboys' training-camp plans - Todd Archer, ESPN
The Dallas Cowboys have a deal with the city of Oxnard (Calif.) through at least 2017 to hold parts of camp at the River Ridge complex. The return of the Rams to Los Angeles doesn't seem to have any effect on that.

In the future, the Cowboys are expected to have at least a portion of camp in Frisco; however, owner Jerry Jones is a fan of having his team in Southern California in part because of the franchise’s ties to the area. Despite the presence of the first iteration of the Los Angeles Rams and then the Raiders, the Cowboys spent their summers in Thousand Oaks, California, from 1963-88.

BTB By The Numbers: Most Active Community Members In 2015 - OCC, Blogging The Boys
It's not like there is a lot of Cowboys football going on right now, so if we can't celebrate the Cowboys, let's celebrate us by looking at the top contributors to BTB over the last twelve months.

Over time, it's become a little bit of a tradition here on Blogging The Boys to look at some of our key user stats of the previous year. We do this not to revel in our record page views or the number of new members we attract every month. Instead, this is an effort to recognize those community members who have made significant contributions to making BTB what it is today: the best source of Cowboys coverage you can find anywhere.

Phillips: Evaluating Many Potential Draft Needs Beyond Backup Quarterback - Rob Phillips, Dallas Cowboys
Now is the time for self-reflection after 4-12. What happened this season? Well, the Cowboys were 3-1 with Tony Romo; 1-11 without him. Simple, right?

Backup quarterback is, Jerry Jones acknowledges, a high offseason priority as insurance for a Romo injury in 2016 and beyond. If Romo would’ve been healthy in 2015, they would’ve been better. Arguably much better. If the offense had gotten more production from his three injury replacements in 2015, they would’ve been more competitive. Arguably much more competitive.

Dallas Cowboys: Cowboys' Jerry Jones on his NFC East perspective: 'All I see is ass' - SportsDay Staff
Never shy to speak to the media, Jerry Jones was rather candid when asked about the Cowboys' spot in the NFC East.

"I do see opportunity though," Jones said.. "But I want a different view and that will ring and intertwine through every meeting, every personal visit I have with everybody involved with the Cowboys. I want to see a different look."

Cowboys continue to keep ‘all options open’ for finding a backup quarterback - Charean Williams, The Star-Telegram
Jerry Jones continues to let everyone know they will search high and low for quarterbacks this offseason. Let's just hope this list excludes Johnny Manziel.

"All the options are just those options, whether it be drafting a high pick, whether drafting a lower pick for more of a developmental situation or whether we look at a prominent quarterback as a backup or as a potential in-the-game guy," Jones said. "They’re all there."

Approximate Value: Ranking The 2015 Dallas Cowboys Roster From Top To Bottom - OCC, Blogging The Boys
We turn to a metric called Approximate Value to rank the 2015 Cowboys roster from top to bottom.

Approximate Value (AV) and the closely related Career Approximate Value (CAV) is something we've repeatedly used over the last six years, particularly during draft coverage. And as we get into the swing of all things draft related over the coming weeks and months, we'll probably use the once again. So in order to get everybody on the same page, we'll use this post as a detailed introduction to AV.

Jerome Henderson likely staying with Dallas Cowboys - Todd Archer, ESPN
After Cleveland Browns decided to hire Hue Jackson as their new head coach, Henderson looks likely to stay put in Dallas.

Henderson interviewed for the Browns job and, short of landing a defensive coordinator job elsewhere, he is expected to return to Dallas for a fifth season, according to a source.

Free Agency Preview: What To Do About Morris Claiborne & Other DBs? - Bryan Broaddus, Dallas Cowboys
The Broad One reviews the Cowboys impending free agents including the former sixth overall pick in Morris Claiborne.

There’s a decision to be made about whether the Cowboys bring Claiborne back for another try this spring, or cut ties. But that’s not their only call to make in the defensive backfield. There are four defensive backs on this roster with uncertain futures – all of which must be considered.

Dallas Cowboys' Jack Crawford with opportunity to cash in - Todd Archer, ESPN
Jack Crawford played well in the final year of his deal with four sacks and 10 QB pressures. And while he'd like to say in Dallas, he will look around.

"One thing that [defensive tackles coach Leon Lett] said to me is that coming in they were hoping for me to be somebody they can count on to play across the D-line and he goes, ‘You did your job and did what we were hoping for and you kind of outperformed our expectations,’" Crawford said. "Looking back on it, I think that, for myself, is what I feel like I’m most proud of."