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Life in the NFC East is never dull, but if Jon Gruden were to step away from the broadcast booth and accept the head job in Philly it would add a different twist to the rivalry between Washington and Philadelphia. With younger brother Jay as the head coach of the Redskins, Thanksgiving dinners with the Gruden clan could become rather interesting to say the least. The speculation over at our sister site is revolving around the possibility that older man's actual interest in returning to the sidelines is simply his annual "look at me" ego fix. Still you never know.
That just doesn't seem realistic. He's been out of the league since 2008. As Reuben Frank likes to point out, Gruden is 45-51 with no playoff wins in his last six years as head coach. He does have a Super Bowl ring and he did coach in Philadelphia at one point, which are reasons why his name comes up in these coaching searches, but it's just hard to believe he's a serious candidate.
Personally I hope that they do go the Gruden route. I enjoyed the occasional shot at the Chipper One, and need some new fodder for the Twitter quips.
Every year at this time there seems to be someone with ties to the Dallas Cowboys whose name is mentioned as things wind toward the announcement of the next class of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees. Owens spent three seasons with the Cowboys and they were good ones as far as production goes. Still his 3,500+ receiving yards and 38 scores were offset by the drama he brought with him. Johnson, on the other hand, turned a team of misfits and cellar dwellers into a dynasty that won three Super Bowls in four seasons. Two of those were with the well coiffed coach patrolling the sidelines. Perhaps the wrong Cowboy got left off the list.
Dallas Cowboys: 5 Potential 2016 NFL Free Agency Targets - Evan Massey, Forbes
Forbes is most likely not on most fans' list of "must read" sources of information when it comes to football news, but at this time of year they always seem to kick out a piece or two that is well worth the read. The business perspective that the editors bring to the table gives us a slightly different look at how the Cowboys might approach free agency. We may not agree with all the potential targets from a football stand point, but from a business perspective it does give some options to consider.
The five free agent targets presented ar RB Matt Forte, WR Travis Benjamin, OLB Bruce Irvin, CB Jerraud Powers, and an inhouse solution, Greg Hardy.
Throughout the course of the 2015 season, Hardy ended up compiling 35 tackles, 6.0 sacks, a forced fumble and an interception. He was active almost every play, although there were still concerns about his attitude. There were multiple reports about him being late or missing practice, which is a big problem.
Dallas will have to decide whether Hardy is worth bringing back or not. That decision will not be an easy one, but he is certainly a player that is a candidate to be back and re-signed for next season.
If Cowboys scheme wasn't 'Romo-reliant' maybe coaches were - Todd Archer, ESPNDallas
Have the Cowboys become too Romo-reliant?
Archer asks the question that has been on my mind for most of the season. A loaded Dallas squad faltered while Denver and Houston (and even Pittsburgh) were able to come to terms with a loss at the QB position and still make waves in the NFL. Outside of Jon Kitna, no other passer has found success in place of Romo and that was the downfall of this year's team.
Hearing the report of a successful surgery is always good, especially when you are hearing it in reference to a rising young talent like Tyrone Crawford. Life in the trenches of the NFL is tough enough for a defensive tackle without the impact of a torn rotator cuff, but Crawford had to deal with that for 14 games this season.
"They had talked to me at midseason and told me the situation and I still wanted to be out there. I didn't want to be off the field. I tried not to use it as an excuse and tried to get better and better every day. I feel like as my shoulder was feeling good, I played better." - Tyrone Crawford.
Having a healthy Crawford next season will be a boon for Rod Marinelli's Merry Band of Rushmen.
It may be one of the oldest cliches in sports but when it comes to football, Bob Sturm calls 'em as he sees 'em.
Because of poor QB play for most of the year, the Cowboys had a lost season. This starts with Tony Romo's collarbone and its ability to sustain major impacts, but then leaks into the idea that the team had nobody ready to confidently run the offense and capable of doing so. - Bob Sturm
If you want your reviews of the Cowboys failure this season to be sugar coated, you might want to skip this one. Sturm lays it out in black and while, and although he and I have debated things once or twice in the past, I am saying that he is spot on as usual this time around.
The Legends Show: Super Bowl XXX 20 Years Later - DallasCowboys.com
A quick trip back to happier times. Has it really been 20 years?