It is a well known fact that current Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was the prime candidate to take over as the new head coach of the Boise State Broncos. Coaching his former college alma mater was considered to be a dream job for Kellen Moore and he has made no attempt to hide his desire to one day become a head coach. That is why it was so shocking for the Dallas Cowboys to announce that they had extended Kellen Moore as their offensive coordinator for 3 more seasons.
The timing of the announcement also came as a surprise. All week long, Mike McCarthy, Jerry Jones, and even Kellen Moore himself were a bit evasive when answering questions about the potential for Moore to be hired for the Boise State job. Nothing was explicitly stated but the implication was clear enough and most Cowboys fans speculated that Moore being hired as head coach of the Broncos was a done deal. Then right before the decisive regular season finale against the Giants, news broke about Kellen Moore’s new deal.
Cowboys fans were not the only ones taken aback by this surprise announcement. According to Troy Aikman, the Boise State job WAS in fact a done deal but then something abruptly changed and the deal fell apart at the last minute. Here is what Troy had to say about the situation:
This news was welcome for most Cowboys fans. It eased their hearts and minds of the fear of losing a promising young offensive coach. It also assured many fans that the team will finally sign Dak Prescott this offseason given that he is Kellen Moore’s biggest fan. Yet, the irony that the news broke before the game against the New York Giants reminded some fans of the career path of the offensive coordinator who stood on the opposing sideline. Yes, I am referring to former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett.
Some Cowboys fans may actually be too young to remember but just like Kellen Moore today, Jason Garrett was considered a young, brilliant offensive mind. When he started out as the Cowboys offensive coordinator, Garrett was quickly singled out by Jerry Jones as a man who could be groomed into the next head coach of the team. That eventually came to fruition, meanwhile some other young promising coaches such as Sean Payton and Mike Zimmer slipped through Jerry’s fingers. Payton and Zimmer have gone on to have a lot of success coaching the Saints and Vikings respectively. Meanwhile, Garrett turned out to be a very average head coach at best. Then, after an entire decade of mediocrity under Garrett, Jerry Jones essentially had a short list of one candidate to replace him. Worse still is that he passed up on a guy like Urban Meyer who is now likely going to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars instead.
That is the single greatest fear for long time Dallas Cowboys fans. It is that Jerry Jones is doomed to repeat history and make the same mistakes that he has made in the past. Mike McCarthy takes the place of Wade Phillips, Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus plays the role of Payton or Zimmer, and enter Kellen Moore as the new Jason Garrett. A hand picked future head coach, hired from within with no prior head coaching experience, who could be allowed to coach an entire decade without even sniffing a championship. Such a parallel would be too much for many Cowboys fans to bear.
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Let’s not hit the panic button just yet Cowboys fans. Despite the eerie similarities, that may not actually be Jerry’s plan for Kellen Moore. Or maybe it is and Kellen Moore will prove to be a brilliant and innovative head coach, maybe even the next Sean McVay. For now let’s remain cautiously optimistic. Hoping for success but also prepared to have our hearts broken once again.