The best argument for the Cowboys keeping coach Mike McCarthy is that he presided over consecutive 12-win seasons. That argument presumably would also apply to the various members of the coaching staff who now find themselves out of work.
In addition to senior defensive assistant George Edwards and running backs coach Skip Peete, the Cowboys have parted ways with offensive line coach Joe Philbin, assistant defensive line coach Leon Lett, and assistant head coach Rob Davis, according to Clarence E. Hill, Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
As PFT noted earlier in the week, the contracts had expired for all but four members of the coaching staff. But it’s still a firing, as a practical matter, to not offer them new contracts.
And it makes me wonder whether something else is going on behind the scenes. Something like owner Jerry Jones discreetly lining up the replacement for the head coach before firing the head coach, because Jones will fire the head coach only if he gets the replacement Jones wants.
In unrelated (or not) developments, Sean Payton’s candidacy with the four teams that had expressed interest in his services seems to have become bogged down, by something.