FRISCO, Texas – Defense coordinator Mike Nolan and defense coach Jim Tomsula will not be returning to the Dallas Cowboys for the 2021 season, the team announced on Friday.
Last season, the Cowboys (6-10) awarded the highest number of points in the franchise’s history (473) and finished 31st in defense of races. In the loss that ended the season for the New York Giants, they conceded 23 points, including 20 in the first half, in an attack that did not score more than 19 in five weeks.
The unit played better in the home stretch with 12 takeaways in the last four games, after only getting 11 in the first 12 games, but that was helped in part by facing reserve backs in Cincinnati, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
“I appreciate my relationship with Mike and Jim, and I am grateful for the contributions they both made to our team in difficult circumstances in 2020,” said coach Mike McCarthy in a statement. “These are never easy decisions to make and we wish them and their families the best in the future.”
Speaking of 105.3 The Fan in Dallas at different times during the season, owner and general manager Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones lamented the shift from the shocking layout – from a 4-3 look to a hybrid look – by the Cowboys during an off-season in which the coaches were only able to meet virtually with the players.
Unable to gain practical experience until the start of an abbreviated training ground, the Cowboys defense struggled hard. They finished 23rd in yards per game (31st against the run, 11th against the pass) and 28th on points (29.6). The Cowboys allowed 69 plays of 20 yards or more, including 51 passes and 18 runs.
The other three times that Cowboys allowed a franchise record in points, the organization made a change of scheme or coaching.
After allowing 436 points in 2010, Jason Garrett was named the full-time head coach after taking over from Wade Phillips in the middle of the season, and he hired Rob Ryan as a defensive coordinator. In 2013, they allowed 432 points in Monte Kiffin’s first year as coordinator, and he was replaced by Rod Marinelli. After losing 405 points in 2004, Bill Parcells changed from 4-3 to 3-4, but kept Mike Zimmer as his coordinator.
Coach Mike McCarthy and Nolan have a long experience together. In 2005, Nolan hired McCarthy as his offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, which helped propel him to win the position of head of the Green Bay Packers a year later.
But the defense was unable to find its support. Although they suffered injuries to Leighton Vander Esch (collarbone, ankle), Trysten Hill (knee) and Trevon Diggs (foot), they were not hit as hard as the Cowboys’ attack.
Their biggest free agent pickups were injured on the training ground (defensive lineman Gerald McCoy), did not take the team off the ground (security Ha Ha Clinton-Dix), were changed (Everson Griffen) or were dismissed because of bad play in the middle of the season (Dontari Poe defensive tackle, cornerback Daryl Worley).
If the Cowboys are looking for an internal replacement, George Edwards spent the year as a senior defensive assistant. He was Zimmer’s defensive coordinator from 2014 to 2019.
But the first question that needs to be answered is what kind of scam Cowboys want to use. In Green Bay, McCarthy employed a 3-4 scheme for most of his term. If he wants to continue with the hybrid look that Nolan tried to use, adding players that fit the scheme will be a priority out of season. In all but three years of their time in Green Bay, the Packers used a 3-4 scheme.