Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images There were certain players who really stood out for the Cowboys this past season. While not much went right for the Dallas Cowboys this season, these players exceeded expectations. They made a bigger impact on the team than many fans and analysts expected them to this year. DE Carl Lawson When the Cowboys signed defensive end Carl Lawson at the end of training camp to the practice squad, not many expected him to have a big impact on the defensive line this season. However, with the defensive line suffering numerous injuries throughout the year, Lawson found himself in a position of playing more than even he may have expected. It’s fair to say he made the most of his opportunities. He finished the season with five sacks, the third-highest on the team. Lawson spoke to Cowboys media, talking about his improvement throughout the season and how it proved he can be a good player in the NFL. “This was a great year for me to prove that I’m still the same caliber of guy,” said Lawson. “The thing for me was continuous ascension. It wasn’t ‘come out of the gates hot and then [fall off]’. And the film I put out there against top-tier opponents, as the season was going on, was really good in establishing myself. With Lawson set to be a free agent this offseason, it would be wise of the Cowboys to bring him back. He has proven himself to be a reliable depth piece on the defensive line. CB Jourdan Lewis Cornerback Jourdan Lewis has been a playmaker for the Cowboys defense throughout his career. He has always been their gritty player in the secondary, not afraid to play physical in the run game. With all this said, Lewis may have had his best season yet this year. With the team getting CB Trevon Diggs back from injury and drafting talented rookie CB Caelen Carson in the fifth round, some fans felt that Lewis could see a somewhat diminished role. However, with the injury-bug striking the secondary all season long, the veteran cornerback stepped up for the defense. Let Jourdan Lewis play forever. Dude rocks. — RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) January 5, 2025 Lewis is one of many players on the team entering the offseason with an expiring contract. But make no mistake, Stephen Jones and the front office would like to see him come back. “Jourdan’s just an uber competitor,” said executive vice president and director of player personnel Stephen Jones. “He’s a guy who’s out of contract, and obviously a guy that we want to have back on this football team.” It would be a big win for the Cowboys if they can bring him back on an affordable contract next season. RB Rico Dowdle Fans and analysts were bewildered this offseason when the team didn’t prioritize signing or drafting a running back to replace Tony Pollard, who they had lost in free agency to the Tennessee Titans. The front office had faith that a tandem of Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott could get the job done. While they may have expected too much from Elliott, Dowdle more than exceeded expectations. Dowdle impressed fans in the 2023 season as Pollard’s backup. He didn’t have incredible stats, but he made the most of his opportunities showcasing his explosive running style and consistency as a receiving option. In 2024, Dowdle became the first undrafted free agent in franchise history to rush for over 1,000 yards. He went on a tear throughout the back-half of the season, making his case as a reliable starting running back in the league. Dowdle is yet another player who has an expiring contract this offseason. Whether or not the Cowboys decide to bring him back, Dowdle has certainly earned himself a nice opportunity to be paid well in free agency. These are three players that exceeded expectations in 2024, and the Cowboys would be wise to try and bring all of them back for the next season.

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images Here is who the Dallas Cowboys could be getting in Robert Saleh. The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly going to hold their first official interview for the head coach position, and no, it’s not Deion Sanders. Former Jets head coach Robert Saleh is reportedly set to interview in Dallas. The #Cowboys have interest in and are expected to interview former #Jets coach Robert Saleh for the vacant head coach position, source said. Would be their first known request. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 15, 2025 Saleh, of course, made headlines as the first coach fired in 2024. The Jets moved on from him just five games into his fourth season despite having a 2-3 record and finally getting to coach more than a minute with Aaron Rodgers under center. The Jets only won three more games the rest of the year and looked considerably worse without him. Saleh came to the Jets after four seasons running the 49ers defense under Kyle Shanahan. He was a heavily-coveted candidate in that cycle, with many anticipating the Michigan native would return home to coach the Lions. Detroit instead hired Dan Campbell, which has worked out very well for them, and Saleh went to the Jets. Saleh finished his Jets tenure with a 20-36 record, never once having a winning season, though many feel he was undermined by a meddlesome owner and a franchise marked by years of dysfunction. Naturally, he’s a perfect fit for the Cowboys, right? Saleh has already interviewed with both the Jaguars and Raiders, and apparently will with Dallas as well. Let’s take a look at how he’d fit with America’s Team. Defensive acumen Saleh is a defensive coach through and through. After serving on Gary Kubiak’s Texans staff for some time, Saleh made his way to Seattle, assisting with the formation of the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom defense. When defensive coordinator Gus Bradley took the Jaguars head coaching job, Saleh followed as his linebackers coach. That led to Saleh getting hired in San Francisco by Shanahan, who he had coached alongside back in Houston. Defensively, Saleh’s scheme is very similar to Carroll’s and, by extension, Dan Quinn’s. He favors a defense that doesn’t blitz much but instead uses stunts to create free rushers and tries to clog up the middle of the field in coverage. Saleh’s time in San Francisco saw him tweak his scheme, just as Quinn tweaked his own in Dallas. Saleh incorporated more Wide 9 defensive line alignments to better position his stacked cast of pass rushers, at one point consisting of five former first-round picks. With the Jets, Saleh kept his defensive scheme intact, though he didn’t call the plays. Still, New York was very successful on that side of the ball, ranking in the top 10 in EPA/play in both 2022 and 2023. He also oversaw the development of several young stars, such as Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams, Quincy Williams, Jermaine Johnson, and Will McDonald. Strong coaching roots Saleh has coached under some really impressive head coaches in the past. His second coaching gig came at Central Michigan under current LSU coach Brian Kelly, which is where he first met current Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, then a graduate assistant. He was briefly part of Mark Richt’s Georgia Bulldogs staff before joining the Texans, where he met the likes of Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel, DeMeco Ryans, and later reunited with LaFleur. As mentioned above, Saleh then came to the Seahawks, where he cut his teeth in the Pete Carroll school of football. His time in Houston, though, laid the foundation for Saleh to be Shanahan’s first call as 49ers head coach. His close relationship with LaFleur, who was the best man at Saleh’s wedding, also led to Saleh joining the Packers as an offensive consultant this season after his firing in New York. Quite simply, he’s been around several very successful coaches in his career. Offensive scheme As is the question for any defensive-minded head-coaching candidate, Saleh will be asked who he’d hire to be his offensive coordinator. The answer is very simple, though. Saleh is a believer in the Shanahan style of offense, which is predicated on the West Coast wide zone that’s taken the league by storm. His ties to Shanahan and LaFleur motivate this preference, and Saleh’s first coordinator with the Jets was Mike LaFleur, brother of the Packers coach. The Jets swapped that LaFleur out for Nathaniel Hackett, who had been Matt LaFleur’s coordinator in Green Bay, in an attempt to lure Aaron Rodgers to the Jets. It worked, but the offense sure didn’t. Still, Saleh is very clearly committed to that strain of offense, and his coordinator hire would surely reflect that. He may try to bring back Mike LaFleur, who is currently the Rams offensive coordinator but doesn’t call plays. He could also try to poach an assistant from the Packers, Rams, or 49ers, or go after Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who has interviewed with several teams for coordinator openings already and whose brother is a scout for the Cowboys. Either way, Saleh has strong ties to the Shanahan style of offense and would almost certainly seek to bring in a coordinator with that kind of background. Leadership ability Saleh’s head coaching candidacy back when the Jets hired him was very much in the mold of the classic “leader of men” trope. A fiery personality with an innate ability to connect with his players, Saleh’s coaching style is very similar to that of Dan Quinn, which isn’t a coincidence given they both cut their teeth under Pete Carroll in Seattle. Many have given Saleh credit for leading the Jets to consecutive 7-10 seasons his last full two years as head coach despite issues at quarterback. In 2022, the Jets benched former second overall pick Zach Wilson, but remained in the playoff hunt up until the end. The next year, they were forced to go back to Wilson when Rodgers was injured just

Eric Hartline-Imagn Images The Dallas Cowboys are expected to interview Robert Saleh for their head coaching vacancy. On Wednesday it was reported that the Dallas Cowboys are expected to interview former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh for their own head coach vacancy. This is a significant development as it is the first reference to an interview expected to happen, and not just a rumor like Deion Sanders, Kellen Moore or Jason Witten. Saleh was the first head coach fired this past season as the Jets moved on from him after their Week 5 loss against the Minnesota Vikings in London. Anyone paying attention to the NFL for the last couple of years has known the “situation” (to be kind) that Saleh has been in relative to coaching the Jets with Aaron Rodgers and all of his antics, and it all reached a boiling point where the team felt it necessary to move on from him before mid-October. Needless to say Saleh was hardly given a fair deal with the Jets, although his 20-36 record as their head coach is hardly one that suggests he was doing a great job. Saleh is a former disciple of Kyle Shanahan’s, although a defensive-minded one. He was already coaching the Jets when Dallas first met Shanahan’s San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs in 2021 (obviously later again the next year), but he flourished under Shanahan and helped pave the way for everyone on San Francisco’s defense (including the staffers) to help have success. That Saleh is a defensive-minded coach is a significant thing relative to the Cowboys. It has been a very long time since Dallas had a head coach who specialized on that side of the ball. Consider that Mike McCarthy and Jason Garrett were both offensive-minded coaches and that the latter took over fully in 2011. This means that the last time Dallas was run by a defensive-minded head coach was Wade Phillips in 2010, but the last time Dallas hired a defensive-minded head coach was Phillips three years earlier in 2007. There are arguments to be made against hiring defensive coaches as the NFL is such an offensive-driven league. Taking a look at the eight teams left standing in the Divisional Round as just an example, the most notable names are offensive in Andy Reid and Sean McVay. I suppose you could throw Nick Sirianni in there as well. Sean McDermott and Demeco Ryans (a former 49ers defensive coordinator himself) are also defensive coaches so there is room for everything in this discussion. Consider that Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh hails from special teams to prove that point even further. But that has been a direction the Cowboys have avoided going in for a very long time now. With Micah Parsons in tow though for the future (we expect) it stands to reason that Dallas could be wise to build around him in an overall sense. Whatever the case, Robert Saleh is the first name to pop up with an interview expected to happen.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports The Cowboys have plenty of key contributors set to hit the open market in March. Since 2013, 31 of 32 NFL franchises have signed at least one outside free agent to a deal worth at least $30M in total value. The one team that hasn’t, ranked by Forbes as 2024’s most valuable sports franchise in the world, is our very own Dallas Cowboys. It’s almost hard to believe how little the Cowboys have spent on outside free agents in the past 10-plus years. You’d have to go all the way back to 2014, when they signed defensive tackle Henry Melton, to find the last time Dallas signed a player from another team to a deal totaling over $20M. While the Cowboys have been by far the most inactive franchise in free agency in the last decade, one thing they have done well is retain their own players set to hit the open market. The 2022 and 2023 offseasons are perfect examples of this. In 2022, Dallas brought back Jayron Kearse, Dorance Armstrong, and Leighton Vander Esch, who played significant roles on the team the prior season. In 2023, they followed the same model, retaining Donovan Wilson, Dante Fowler Jr., Jonathan Hankins, and Vander Esch for the second straight year. Dallas had built themselves a reputation that while they may not spend nearly anything on outside free agents, if they wanted to keep a player they would do what it takes to retain their own talent and not let contributing players walk away. Unfortunately, the Cowboys completely abandoned that strategy last offseason. After the 2023 season, Dallas had seven significant contributors set to hit free agency. Many figured the Cowboys would follow their recent strategy of retaining their own key contributors and bring back at least three or four members of the group set to hit the open market. Instead, the Cowboys went in a completely different direction, letting all seven players sign with other teams. Dorance Armstrong, Tyler Biadasz, Dante Fowler Jr., Stephon Gilmore, Jonathan Hankins, Tyron Smith, and Tony Pollard all left the Cowboys in free agency, with none signing a deal totaling over $11M in AAV. The move to let all of this group walk turned out to bite the Cowboys in a big way during the 2024 season, as injuries completely exposed their lack of roster depth, leading to a highly disappointing year. If Jerry Jones and Dallas’ front office could go back to March of 2024, they’d likely make a different decision and bring back at least two or three players from the above group that they let depart. While they can’t return and change the past, they can learn from their mistakes and take a different path this spring. Like last offseason, Dallas has some key contributors set to hit the open market this March. Six starters from the 2024 team, Brandin Cooks, Rico Dowdle, Eric Kendricks, DeMarcus Lawrence, Jourdan Lewis, and Osa Odighizuwa, are all upcoming free agents and available to sign with another team on March 10th. While the Cowboys may be unable to retain all six, they have more than enough cap space and flexibility to bring back a good portion of the group. Three of those players, Rico Dowdle, Jourdan Lewis, and Osa Odighizuwa, are coming off career-years and should be top priorities for the Cowboys to retain. If Dallas lets those three walk in free agency, unless they buck a more than 10-year trend and spend on outside talent, it’s hard to see a way in which the Cowboys will form a better team in 2025 than what we saw on the field this season. In years past, the Cowboys needed to spend big on outside free agents to get their team over the hump. This offseason, that is not the case. The one thing Dallas does need to do in free agency is add players from other organizations to beef up their roster depth. The Cowboys could benefit from signing three or four league-average players to deals worth $4-5M in AAV to sure up some weak spots and give themselves some much-needed depth at some of their more top-heavy position groups. The Cowboys can have a successful offseason if they prioritize retaining their own talent and use free agency as a way to regain some of the depth they lost last spring. If Dallas were to re-sign Dowdle, Kendricks, Lewis, and Odighizuwa, paired with retaining three of their non-starter free agents in Chauncey Golston, Brock Hoffman, and KaVontae Turpin, that would be an extremely successful start to the offseason. Pair retaining that group with adding three or fourth depth players in free agency and selecting some offensive firepower early in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Cowboys could look like a playoff team again next fall. The ball is entirely in the Cowboys’ court regarding how this offseason will turn out. Will they see the error in their ways from last spring and learn from their mistakes? If they don’t, it’s hard to see a way in which we see a better on-field product from this team next season.

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images The latest news around the Dallas Cowboys. What Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said about Mike McCarthy’s Dallas departure – Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News The Dallas Cowboys franchise quarterback speaks on his head coach walking out the door. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott understands the business of the NFL and expressed that when asked to comment on the departure of coach Mike McCarthy. “Just [a] great dude and blessed to be able to play underneath him,” Prescott told The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday. “It’s a business.” Prescott played for five seasons under McCarthy and the relationship moved in a positive direction from day one. McCarthy didn’t change the offense when he arrived in 2020 so the quarterback could remain comfortable. McCarthy even said he learned the verbiage, which was the opposite of what he used when he coached in other places. But in 2023, McCarthy took over the playcalling duties as Kellen Moore left to become the offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers. Over the last two seasons, McCarthy and Prescott’s relationship grew. There were times when McCarthy defended the criticism directed toward his quarterback. McCarthy and Prescott shared Thursday night meetings going over the game plan and just talking about life. Cowboys’ Micah Parsons reacts to ‘devastating’ news of Mike McCarthy’s departure – Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram The Cowboys All-Pro pass rusher had much to say on his podcast today. On Tuesday, defensive end Micah Parsons reacted to the news of McCarthy being out and what could be ahead for a franchise that now has a lot of questions to answer this offseason. “It’s obviously very sad because of the relationships we had with Coach McCarthy and what he’s done for our program,” Parsons said on his podcast, The Edge with Micah Parsons on Bleacher Report. “Three straight 12-5 seasons, playoff appearances and obviously the unfortunate year due to injuries and things like that [in 2024].” “It is devastating. He’s always been good to us as a unit, coaches, players. Losing a great coach like Mike hurts.” Parsons was vocal about wanting McCarthy and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer back in the fold during the final weeks of the season. Despite a meeting with owner Jerry Jones on Friday at the Cotton Bowl that lasted well after the game had finished, his public desire of keeping the two Mike’s will not be fulfilled. “It’s going to be a very interesting offseason due to free agents, the coaching,” he said. “It’s going to be a complete reset. It’s going to be an interesting and challenging offseason. But listen, I trust our owner, I trust our GM and I trust Will McClay that we’re going to make the right decisions.” Parsons will be one of the many layers of the offseason that will make it an interesting one, as he is due for a contract extension that is expected to make him one of the highest-paid defensive players in league history. Even though last offseason didn’t see him around the building until his presence was mandatory in June for team minicamp, he has said that he plans to be around more in 2025. Kellen Moore addresses Cowboys’ head coaching vacancy – Charean Williams, Pro Football Talk When asked about Dallas’ vacancy at head coach, Kellen Moore kept things close to the vest. Moore spent five years coaching with the Cowboys, four of those as the offensive coordinator, and he coached under both Jason Garrett and Mike McCarthy. The Cowboys and McCarthy parted ways Monday, and Moore’s name immediately was linked to the job. Moore, a backup quarterback for the Cowboys for three years, was asked about that Tuesday. “I spent a lot of time there, eight years there, so [I] have plenty of relationships in that place,” Moore said, via a transcript from the team. “I love it here. I’ve had so much fun here. It’s been a really fun process, and we’re in a really special situation right now, getting the chance to play this Sunday, having a chance to make a run at this thing, and that’s really all you worry about. Everything else is what it is, and we’ll see where it takes you.” Moore is in his first season with the Eagles after one season with the Chargers following his departure from the Cowboys. What’s Next? Addressing Cowboys’ questions at offensive tackle – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com Where does Tyler Guyton fit into the plans along the Cowboys’ offensive line? Present: Ah, Martin, a longtime ironman for the Cowboys who has, of late, seen his body begin to fail him as the years pile on. The perennial All-Pro and future first ballot Hall of Famer suffered a season-ending ankle injury after weeks of battling through an injury to his opposite ankle, along with back issues that plagued him this past season. And, as it turns out, the ankle issue isn’t a new one, as in he admitted to having fought through it for multiple seasons now. He’s mulled retirement before and, now more than ever, there’s a possibility he hangs up his cleats for good, and that would mark two future Hall of Famers lost in as many seasons for the Cowboys — Tyron Smith having left in last year’s free agency to join the Jets. This definitely isn’t your father’s offensive line in Dallas anymore. Future: Needless to say, the future is essentially right now for this offensive line. Should Martin call it a career, the longest-tenured player will be Terence Steele at right tackle, and he’s just 27 years old. The latter is to point out exactly how young the unit will be going forward, but we’ll get into the situation on the interior O-line in the next edition of this series. Tyler Guyton’s rookie year was marred with injury after a strong first debut against Myles Garrett and the Browns, and some early struggles that he’d eventually get ironed out, at least mostly. He’ll need to treat his

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Taking a look around the division. In Roob’s Stats: A record for Dallas Goedert, history from Eagles’ defense – Reuben Frank, NBC Sports Philadelphia The Eagles advance to the Divisional Round with a convincing win over Green Bay. Lots of interception stats, an all-time Eagles receiving record, an NFL record Jalen Hurts is closing in on and the worst Packer ever. This is a loaded postseason edition of Roob’s Eagles Stats, so let’s get right to it! 1. The interception section 1A. Quinyon Mitchell became the youngest Eagle in 44 years with a postseason interception and Darius Slay became the oldest Eagle in 45 years with a postseason interception. Mitchell, who is 23 years, 178 days, is the youngest Eagle with an INT in the playoffs since Roynell Young had one off Danny White in the 1980 NFC Championship Game win at the Vet at 23 years, 41 days old. Mitchell is also the first Eagles rookie with a postseason INT since Young in 1980. Slay, 34, became the oldest Eagle with a postseason interception since Bob Howard picked off Mike Phipps in the Eagles’ wild-card win over the Bears at the Vet in 1979. Slay is also the oldest NFL player with a postseason INT in seven years, since 36-year-old Mike Adams of the Panthers had one off Drew Brees in the Superdome in 2017. The last time a team had interceptions in the same game from two players 11 years apart in age was in the 1999 NFC Championship Game, which the Bucs lost 11-6 to the Rams at TWA Dome in St. Louis. In that game, 34-year-old Hardy Nickerson and 23-year-old Brian Kelly of the Bucs both picked off Kurt Warner. 4. A record-setting day for Dallas Goedert With four catches, Dallas Goedert increased his career postseason total to a franchise-record 39, one more than Chad Lewis. Goedert’s 39 catches are 2nd-most among active tight ends, just behind Travis Kelce, who has 165. Goedert’s 39 catches are 13th-most all-time by a tight end in the postseason, one more than former teammate Zach Ertz. Goedert needs six more catches to enter the all-time top-10. Goedert’s four postseason touchdowns are two shy of the Eagles record of six, held by Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael. Commanders QB Jayden Daniels Shares Secret to Success – Jeremy Brener, Sports Illustrated Washington snuck out of Tampa with win and is on to Detroit. The Washington Commanders are having their best year in over three decades, and it comes during the first year of the new regime with quarterback Jayden Daniels, coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters. A lot has changed within the organization, and Daniels shared the secret to the team’s success in his postgame press conference after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round. “I mean, that’s just the brotherhood that DQ (Head Coach Dan Quinn) set – the brotherhood and togetherness we have within the locker room. Obviously, the people that have been in the locker room, you can see how close we are off the field. We’re always hanging around each other. Everybody gets along with each other, so in those moments, when times get tough, we fall back on those moments,” Daniels said. Daniels is just a rookie, but his sentiments have been echoed by linebacker Bobby Wagner, arguably the most established veteran on the roster. “I think it’s the camaraderie, I think it’s the brotherhood,” Wagner said. “I feel like we’ve been tested throughout the year like you said. We had moments where we were up, we had moment where we were down and I think all those tests have allowed us to build that confidence especially for a group that’s first playing together, especially for young players that we have that are playing really big minutes so all these wins are good for our experience and makes it fun for us.” Patriots hire Mike Vrabel: Giants let key front-office executive leave, join HC in New England, per report – Jordan Dajani, CBS Sports There was front office movement in New York, but not what many anticipated. During his introductory press conference as the New England Patriots head coach on Monday, Mike Vrabel was asked about potentially adding New York Giants executive advisor Ryan Cowden to the front office. Vrabel responded by saying nothing had been finalized regarding the front office, but just hours later, it was reported that Cowden is set to reunite with Vrabel. According to NFL Media, the Giants are allowing Cowden out of his current deal to join the Patriots front office under executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf. Ian Rapoport reports this was not an easy decision for the Giants, but that they didn’t want to stop Cowden from pursuing an opportunity he wanted. Cowden spent the past two seasons with the Giants as the executive advisor to general manager Joe Schoen, but previously worked with Vrabel when the two were members of the Tennessee Titans. During his time in Nashville, Cowden served as the vice president of player personnel, and was named the interim general manager when Jon Robinson was fired in 2022. The 46-year-old Cowden has 25 years of NFL experience, working in scouting for the Carolina Panthers for 16 years before securing a promotion with the Titans in 2016. During his time in Carolina, the Panthers won two NFC championships, five NFC South titles and made the playoffs a total of six times. The Titans made the playoffs in four out of the seven seasons Cowden was in the front office, including an AFC Championship appearance in 2019.