FRISCO – The Dallas Cowboys have made quite an issue of the idea of “stability” on the coaching staff, not to mention a “running game emphasis” when it comes to who will be hired to be the new offensive coordinator working under just-hired head coach Brian Schottenheimer …
All of which makes a new Thursday rumor involving Ken Dorsey a bit puzzling.
Dorsey just got fired after his one season with the Cleveland Browns, who finished 3-14 and averaged 15 points per game.
Dorsey was with the Buffalo Bills before that but got fired in the middle of his second season there, in 2023.
So Dorsey, at 43 – for whatever support he has and for whatever credentials he has – isn’t exactly the model of “stability.”
Schottenheimer has got two vets in Matt Eberflus as the defensive coordinator and Nick Sorensen as the special-teams coordinator … and he’s been considering up-and-comer Arizona Cardinals offensive line coach Klayton Adams as the coordinator.
Adams, 41, has been credited as a mastermind behind the Cardinals’ stellar run game last season. He also, as of a year ago, was touted by SI as a possible future head coach in the NFL.
With Schottenheimer calling the plays and having a big say in how the offense will be run, it is crucial to get the right person in the building who shares his philosophies.
Adams is seen by many as that guy.
Said COO Stephen Jones: “Coach Schottenheimer … wants a guy who’s going to be able to marry his philosophies to the run game. We want to be able to run the ball, and we want to stop the run, and certainly that’s what we want to do.
“That’s what great championship football teams do, so I think it’s really important that we find a coach that’s going to be outstanding in the run game area.”
The Cardinals last year had the seventh-best run game in football, averaging 144.2 yards per game and eight times surpassed 150 yards in a game, with three of them over 200 rush yards. Oh, and Arizona rushed for 18 touchdowns too, ranking it eighth in the league.
Considering the Cowboys rushed for only six touchdowns and averaged 100.3 yards per game? Yes, Dallas needs a boost.
Given that Schotty wants to run the ball and then work the passing game off of that, it feels like Adams coming to The Star might be what Dallas’ new head coach wants.
Adams joined the Cardinals staff in 2023 after having previously spent time with the Indianapolis Colts as assistant offensive line coach from 2019 to 2020 and as tight ends coach from 2021 to 2022.
He does “check some boxes,” no doubt, and maybe he will serve as Schottenheimer’s right-hand man on offense.
Or … it is possible that there is room for both Dorsey and Adams on the staff, in whatever roles. … which we will monitor.
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