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Gosselin:'You can't win when you're the head coach and it's the owner's coaching staff'
Posted at 6:00 PM on Fri., Oct. 29, 2010 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
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The Dallas Morning News writer Rick Gosselin chatted with fans and answered questions on Thursday about the Dallas Cowboys as they prepare for their game with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Here are some highlights:
On the possibility of the Jaguars handing the Cowboys their sixth loss of the season:
Can I see the Jaguars winning in Arlington Sunday? Sure, the Jaguars have already beaten the Colts -- and Indianapolis is a much better team than Dallas. If Cleveland can beat the defending Super Bowl champions in New Orleans, anything can happen on any given Sunday. If Maurice Jones-Drew rushes for 100 yards and the Jaguars can control the ball for 32 minutes, I can see Jacksonville beating the Cowboys. Like I said above, it's on the Dallas defense to save this season. The first step in that direction is to contain Jones-Drew. If they don't, 1-6.
On the idea that a coaching change would help this team:
Depends who the coach is. If its Bill Cowher, yes. he'd walk in with the respect of the locker room. But that would entail Jerry giving up some personnel power. He'll have to do some soul-searching to do that. Mike Zimmer would be an interesting hire, and I'd be surprised if Jim Harbaugh at Stanford is not contacted. But whomever the coach -- Cowher, Zimmer, Harbaugh -- should demand that he be able to hire his own staff. You can't win when you're the head coach and it's the owner's coaching staff. Too many split loyalties.
On Jerry Jones' idea to wait until the end of the season to make a decision at head coach:
The problem goes beyond coaching. Firing Wade isn't going to make this a great football team overnight. I'm sure Wade is looking in the mirror at himself. There should be a lot of players in that lockerroom looking in the mirror at themselves as well. An interim coach is a bad idea. Only one ever turned around a season to win a championship -- Wally Lemm at Houston in 1961. If you just want to see this team get rid of Wade for the sake of getting rid of Wade, then fire him. It's always easier to blame than to fix.
On the Cowboy organization ignoring the need for offensive linemen:
The Cowboys draft them. They just don't develop them. You have to draft young linemen and make a commitment to get them on the field. There has been no such commitment at Valley Ranch. It took Doug Free three years to get on the field -- now he's their best lineman.
On the importance of special teams:
The San Diego Chargers rank number 1 in the NFL in both offense and defense but find themselves 2-5 because they stink in the kicking game. Special teams seem to grow in importance every year as the 32 teams become more clumped in parity. Do you think it was Joe DeCamillis's decision to go into the season with David Buehler as his kicker? Or do you think that decision was made above him? Sometimes you just have to play the hand your dealt and hope for the best. Joe DeCamillis is a quality special teams coach. If you start assigning numbers to the folks to blame for this disaster of a season thus far, he'd be in the double digits.
On how Tony Romo would fare in a West Coast Offense:
Romo could flourish in an offense that runs the football. A great running game can make a great quarterback. You saw it happen in the 1990s here with Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman. Franco Harris gave Terry Bradshaw time to develop into a franchise quarterback at Pittsburgh. John Elway didn't win a championship until Terrell Davis showed up. I've been preaching balance all season. You can't throw 40 times and run the ball 15 times and expect to win on Sundays. The more you throw, the more you jeopardize your quarterback's health. A good running back also opens up the play-action passing game. Maybe Peyton Manning can win without a great running game. Maybe Tom Brady can win without a great running game. But there aren't any other quarterbacks playing today in their class.
Posted at 6:00 PM on Fri., Oct. 29, 2010 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
SportsDayDFW sports Bio | E-mail | News tips
The Dallas Morning News writer Rick Gosselin chatted with fans and answered questions on Thursday about the Dallas Cowboys as they prepare for their game with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Here are some highlights:
On the possibility of the Jaguars handing the Cowboys their sixth loss of the season:
Can I see the Jaguars winning in Arlington Sunday? Sure, the Jaguars have already beaten the Colts -- and Indianapolis is a much better team than Dallas. If Cleveland can beat the defending Super Bowl champions in New Orleans, anything can happen on any given Sunday. If Maurice Jones-Drew rushes for 100 yards and the Jaguars can control the ball for 32 minutes, I can see Jacksonville beating the Cowboys. Like I said above, it's on the Dallas defense to save this season. The first step in that direction is to contain Jones-Drew. If they don't, 1-6.
On the idea that a coaching change would help this team:
Depends who the coach is. If its Bill Cowher, yes. he'd walk in with the respect of the locker room. But that would entail Jerry giving up some personnel power. He'll have to do some soul-searching to do that. Mike Zimmer would be an interesting hire, and I'd be surprised if Jim Harbaugh at Stanford is not contacted. But whomever the coach -- Cowher, Zimmer, Harbaugh -- should demand that he be able to hire his own staff. You can't win when you're the head coach and it's the owner's coaching staff. Too many split loyalties.
On Jerry Jones' idea to wait until the end of the season to make a decision at head coach:
The problem goes beyond coaching. Firing Wade isn't going to make this a great football team overnight. I'm sure Wade is looking in the mirror at himself. There should be a lot of players in that lockerroom looking in the mirror at themselves as well. An interim coach is a bad idea. Only one ever turned around a season to win a championship -- Wally Lemm at Houston in 1961. If you just want to see this team get rid of Wade for the sake of getting rid of Wade, then fire him. It's always easier to blame than to fix.
On the Cowboy organization ignoring the need for offensive linemen:
The Cowboys draft them. They just don't develop them. You have to draft young linemen and make a commitment to get them on the field. There has been no such commitment at Valley Ranch. It took Doug Free three years to get on the field -- now he's their best lineman.
On the importance of special teams:
The San Diego Chargers rank number 1 in the NFL in both offense and defense but find themselves 2-5 because they stink in the kicking game. Special teams seem to grow in importance every year as the 32 teams become more clumped in parity. Do you think it was Joe DeCamillis's decision to go into the season with David Buehler as his kicker? Or do you think that decision was made above him? Sometimes you just have to play the hand your dealt and hope for the best. Joe DeCamillis is a quality special teams coach. If you start assigning numbers to the folks to blame for this disaster of a season thus far, he'd be in the double digits.
On how Tony Romo would fare in a West Coast Offense:
Romo could flourish in an offense that runs the football. A great running game can make a great quarterback. You saw it happen in the 1990s here with Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman. Franco Harris gave Terry Bradshaw time to develop into a franchise quarterback at Pittsburgh. John Elway didn't win a championship until Terrell Davis showed up. I've been preaching balance all season. You can't throw 40 times and run the ball 15 times and expect to win on Sundays. The more you throw, the more you jeopardize your quarterback's health. A good running back also opens up the play-action passing game. Maybe Peyton Manning can win without a great running game. Maybe Tom Brady can win without a great running game. But there aren't any other quarterbacks playing today in their class.
