Cowboys defensive poll: What does the future have in store for Mike Nolan?

When fans heard that the Dallas Cowboys were bringing in defensive coordinator Mike Nolan as defensive coordinator, how many of you thought it would turn out to be this bad in his first season? Be honest. Almost nobody thought they would be bead last in the NFL in defense with Cowboys Hall of Famer Troy Aikman trashing this defense on a national televised game. Piling on that, future Hall of Famer Darren Woodson said that these defensive players are tackling like it’s flag football in an interview with CowboysSI.com.

“The way they play, it makes the competitor in you cringe,” Woodson tells CowboysSI.com during a promotional tour for Crown Royal’s “Stay Hydrated” holiday campaign. “It was my job to hit people. To punish quarterbacks. To have my teammate’s back.

“But these guys … I don’t know. They’re helping up runners. Giving love taps on helmets. After the game, sure, it’s a brotherhood. But between the lines, where’s the animosity? We just don’t see anger in this defense’s veins. We see tackling like they’re playing flag football. That’s why all season they’ve been gashed.”

That's quite the fall from grace for a defense many had pegged as loaded with talent and ready to take the next step.

But should their play on the field reflect negatively on Nolan? He can't be on the field with them even though he moved from a seat upstairs to come back down on the sidelines to be closer to the players. Those are positives that show he is trying to get through to his players, but right now he has taken a defense that was just outside of the top 10 in overall defense last season down the last place, and that is hard to over look. Some will say he didn't get a fair shot thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, while others will say look at other defensive coordinators on new teams who are having success. They've dealt with the pandemic and injuries as well and they aren't in this bad of shape.

How do you feel about Nolan at this point? If you choose to let him go then who would you like to see come in at defensive coordinator for the Cowboys?