Cowboys news: Troy Aikman wasn’t surprised Kellen Moore was let go

Troy Aikman drops truth bomb on Kellen Moore’s Cowboys departure - Steve Zavala, ClutchPoints.com

The former Cowboys Super Bowl winning quarterback, Troy Aikman, shares his thoughts on Kellen Moore leaving Dallas.

Many have since claimed that Moore was the scapegoat for the Cowboys’ roller-coaster production on offense over the late stages of the season. However, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman does not necessarily believe that this is the reason why Moore is no longer the team’s OC.

“I think probably what comes out of it is a lot of people feeling like maybe Mike is scapegoating Kellen Moore, I don’t feel that’s the case,” Aikman said during a recent appearance on Sportsradio 96.7 FM’s ‘The Musers’ show. “Kellen did a really nice job, which is indicated by the fact that he was able to get the Chargers job just right away.

“He wasn’t gonna be able to work for very long, which says a lot for what he was able to do while he was here, highly respected around the league.”

From Aikman’s standpoint, he sees that Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, who will be calling plays on the offensive side of the ball in the 2023 season, simply wanted to be a bit more “hands-on” with the offense.

“But I just think that there’s probably a comfort level for Mike that he just never quite had coming in and not running his offense,” Aikman said. “Because even in Green Bay when he was not calling the plays, it was still his offense. Now I’m sure there were concepts, there were things that were installed in the offense here. But at the end of the day, it wasn’t the offense that he came here with, that he would have put in, so I’m not surprised by that.”

Tolbert’s 2023 Goal: “Show Why I Got Drafted” - Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com

One of the most disappointing draft picks in recent memory was Jalen Tolbert and his 2022 season. However, the rookie receiver is looking to prove doubters wrong.

Plain and simple, Tolbert expected much more than just his two catches for 12 yards and playing in only eight games.

“I think everything is a learning experience,” Tolbert said this week after one of the Senior Bowl practices. “People look at this year as a down year for me or whatever the word might be out there, but for me, I learned a lot and learned what I need to do to be an elite talent in the league and how to help our team next year. I’m excited for the offseason as well as the coaches are for me, to take that next step and have a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2. I’m excited to go in and have a different feel and know exactly what I need to do and what’s asked of me and just be comfortable and play like I played here at South (Alabama) and have that confidence.”

Tolbert was one of the most productive receivers ever to come out of the South Alabama program, catching 82 passes in 2021 as a junior before declaring for the NFL Draft.

He also had a big week at the Senior Bowl, which is played at his own stadium, which obviously helped him getting picked.

But getting drafted is one thing – performing up to the standards – is another.

“With every step you take, you go into a different view of life and a different view of football,” Tolbert said. “I had to learn the business side of stuff, the position side of things – I had to learn multiple positions. I had to learn a lot of stuff. Now I know what to work on, what I need to do and where I need to be, what positions I need to know, now I can go into next year and not have to learn and play at the same time but just go out there, be comfortable and confident and just go play and show why I got drafted.”

Before he can do that next season, Tolbert knows this will be an important offseason. He said he expects to train with CeeDee Lamb for most of the time, as well as spending time running routes and catching passes from Dak Prescott.

Cowboys Fired Coach Mike Nolan Hired by USFL - Mike Fisher & Geoff Magliochetti, Cowboys Country

Former NFL head coach Jeff Fisher stepped down as head coach of the USFL Michigan Panthers. In his place, former Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Nolan.

Jeff Fisher, late of the United States Football League - known as former Los Angeles Rams head coach - stepped down from the same spot with the USFL’s Michigan Panthers, who will return for their second back on the field this spring.

And Fisher will be replaced by …

The former NFL head coach Mike Nolan, whose most recent professional football notoriety came as the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator

The Panthers’ job was Fisher’s first in a coaching capacity since his time with the Rams ended. Michigan, however, failed to make any headway in the new USFL, going 2-8 in his first and only season. Fisher also served as the Panthers GM, with a roster that included former NFL first-round pick Paxton Lynch at quarterback.

Michigan will return to action this spring with Nolan in town. Nolan’s pre-Cowboys resume was an impressive one and he was among McCarthy’s first big decisions when they arrived at The Star in 2020.

Stop It All, Dak’s Not Going Anywhere - Mickey Spagnola, DallasCowboys.com

Some feel the Cowboys should move on from Dak Prescott at quarterback. However, with the comments from Jerry Jones this week, it seems like the team is committed to him for the long term.

How are the Cowboys going to fix Dak Prescott?

OK, get it, he didn’t have a good game in the 19-12 loss to the 49ers in the divisional round playoff game. But you know what? Other than the defense, the Cowboys didn’t have a good game against the Niners. Couldn’t run the ball, just 76 yards, and let’s not blame all that on losing explosive running back Tony Pollard before halftime. At that point, Pollard had eight touches for 33 total yards (six runs for 22 yards and two catches for 11). And just less than half of their 55 first-half rushing yards came on two Dak runs for 20 yards. Never a good day when your QB’s 11-yard run ends up being the team’s longest in the game.

But then, get this, too. The only two people tagged with a loss are the quarterback and the head coach. Maybe this time three, since so many were down on offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, though guessing the Chargers were not among that crowd, hiring him nearly the minute he departed on that mutual agreement.

And, of course, Dak did what every creditable quarterback will do after a loss, never daring to spread the blame around. He just falls on his sword, saying, “And for us to only put up the points that we did, that’s unacceptable, and it starts with me. I’ve got to be better. No other way to sugarcoat it.”

He wouldn’t dare say that, other than CeeDee Lamb’s performance, the Cowboys other receivers didn’t exactly have a great day getting open, Michael Gallup getting shut out, Noah Brown with two catches and T.Y. Hilton with one.

Look, the point here is this: Yep, Dak being intercepted 17 times over 14 games (including playoffs) is not good. But let’s remember, dropped balls and bad or unexpected routes accounted for a good number of those. It’s not as if Dak has had an interception problem his entire career. His single-season high had been 13 in 2017. Last year, when throwing a franchise single-season record 37 touchdown passes, he had 10 of his career-tying high 596 passes picked.

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