This organization needs some administrative help if they are ever going to get number six.

Now that is not to say that they haven’t recently made efforts to change how they do things; in fact, I would consider the opposite and say that all of the Cowboys’ efforts in recent memory have been invested in becoming an organization worthy of another title. In 2014 for the first time in recorded history, someone stepped in and took Jerry’s finger off of the proverbial button (in this case, the Johnny Manziel button), which seemed to be the exact moment that the team decided it was time for a paradigm shift. It was following this moment in which Dallas began taking a much more conservative approach to roster building, both through the draft and in free-agency. However, an argument could be made that following this shift and a little bit of success, they became a bit too conservative. Combine this with what ultimately panned out to be a failed investment in Dez Bryant, and suddenly it seems they were so fearful of finding themselves back in cap-hell that they just quit spending top money on players altogether. Look at how the Rams have built their 2018 roster- They knew where their strengths lay, and were madly aggressive in free-agency to bring in the guys they knew that Sean McVay and his staff could achieve results with. Two seasons ago, Philadelphia did the same. They recognized they were on the cusp of making a run for a title. Pederson asked for an upgrade in the run game and was awarded with Jay Ajayi for a whopping fourth-round pick. The rest is history. In the case of the 2018 Cowboys, they made a midseason move for a player in Amari Cooper, who was without argument a major addition to their offense. But where the difference lies between the two teams listed before and the Cowboys, is that Dallas was going to have Cooper at any cost to save their season and reputation, which is why Dallas had to shell out a first-round pick while Josh Gordon was going to the Patriots for a fifth-rounder and Jarvis Landry was being traded for peanuts to the Browns. Since deciding to take the more conservative approach, the Cowboys had not spent any real capital on making waves in free agency. But after overturning their entire roster and insisting time and again that this Dez-less, Jason-less, Romo-less version of the Cowboys was better than before, they had to do something to keep the ship afloat.

The point is this:

Dallas has been looking to make the jump from good to title-contending for now what has seemed like a very long time. When things haven’t worked out, they have tried to adjust and attack their issues from different angles, but continuously run into a brick wall for different reasons. However relentlessly they have tried to find ways to overcome the obstacles and make a playoff push, time and again they have tripped over themselves and it is so obvious how exhausted fans are with this trend. This past season may have resulted in a big turnaround and a chance at the postseason, but it required the organization openly admitting their mistakes and giving up draft capital to change their fortunes. And the fact that they consistently can’t seem to get out of their own way is the only reason needed to justify why a new perspective is badly needed on the Cowboys’ staff.

Which is why promoting within just does not seem like the answer to their problems.

The pitchforks had been sharpened, and the angered masses were coming full tilt for Scott Linehan this off-season. He was going to be gone one way or another, but who was going down with him and who would be replacing him/them has been the most important question to this date. So why is it that in the midst of trying to find that next missing piece, the Jones family still thinks that the answer is in-house? If it was, wouldn’t it have shown itself already? If someone within the organization was talented enough to covet Linehan’s job, wouldn’t they have spoken up at 3-5, or at any point in the season and maybe mentioned that they had some ideas about running their offense a different way? For all of their efforts to grow and improve, there is an undercurrent of complacency about the Cowboys organization that is just maddening to someone who might consider themselves more than a casual observer. Kellen Moore may be all that the Jones family hopes for and more, and for our sake, fans better root for the boy, because the OC job is all his. But given the lack of upward trajectory this team has experienced in recent years suggests that this is more of a lateral move, and maintains a certain status-quo which the ownership have become quite comfortable with. But everyone knows that when Dallas wins, the NFL wins. At this point, everyone should be rooting for Moore to be as good as Jerry thinks he is.

Aaron Ferguson

Staff Writer covering the Dallas Cowboys. 2018 graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University with a focus on Political Science and Sports Business. Dallas is the center of my sports universe, and I eat, sleep, and breathe America's Team.