'Super Bowl or nothing': Cowboys' offseason priorities after disappointing playoff exit

FRISCO, Texas—The pain, Mike McCarthy said, is still fresh.

The Cowboys believed they had sufficient talent to win this season. Their coaching staff had experience, and at last, their franchise quarterback was under contract. The NFL’s most significant uncontrollable factor, health, favored Dallas in the playoffs. And they hosted the 49ers at home.

But in a market where expectations never truly fall below sky-high, Cowboys fans watched the 49ers bully Dallas into submission in the wild-card game loss. A “letdown,” owner/general manager Jerry Jones described it.

“This season will probably stick with me and motivate me throughout the rest of my career,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “When you play for the Dallas Cowboys, you play here, you understand it’s Super Bowl or nothing.”

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Dallas showed flashes of promise in a 12-5 season, but questions swirl amid playoff disappointment, a roster full of free agents and head-coaching interest for Cowboys coordinators.

Here are five priorities for the Cowboys’ offseason:

Coordinator craze

Coaching staff – Cowboys management has said McCarthy will return as head coach for a third year. But who will return to his staff? Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn have each interviewed with multiple teams amid the NFL’s eight head-coaching vacancies. It seems likely the Cowboys will have to determine how best to replicate the coaching stability of 2021 even through its flaws. The Cowboys' offense had challenges in the red zone and in the power run game, while the defense’s aggressive play style at times warranted penalties and saw players bite on fakes or double moves. But on balance, the Cowboys' staff was strong. Quinn masterfully coordinated a defensive transformation from a unit 28th in points allowed to seventh; from a squad tied for seventh in takeaways to a team in sole possession of first. He engendered defensive chemistry. The Prescott-Moore familiarity propelled the offense to its second No. 1 ranking in three years (injury sidelined Prescott for most of the third), Dallas also scoring the most points in the NFL. Especially in the first half of the season, as the Cowboys leapt to a 6-1 start, game plans and coach-player chemistry contributed to offensive dominance.

The Cowboys could look internally for replacements. On defense, that could include secondary coach Joe Whitt. Jr and senior defensive assistant George Edwards. Quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier or Cowboys offensive consultant (and former Giants head coach) Ben McAdoo could enter the conversation for offensive coordinator. McCarthy said Wednesday that he will not return to his play-calling days, and that he would encourage whoever coordinates in 2022 to keep Prescott’s system and language as consistent as possible.

“You’re always evolving your offense,” McCarthy said. But “the goal is to try to keep the foundation for Dak. … I hope Dak is running it for a long, long, time because it’s build around making him successful.”

Less laundry

The Cowboys were appalled by the abrupt ending to their wild-card game. They decried the officiating crew, including for a collision between an official and Prescott in a messy snap that eliminated the Cowboys’ expected last play. But no player or fan should have been surprised with this bungle. The Cowboys’ 14 penalties for 89 yards in the wild-card game were consistent with being the most penalized team this season. The Cowboys averaged 7.8 penalties per game, costing them 66.2 yards a week. And these weren’t just what the team calls “combative” penalties reflecting an aggressive playing style. Holding calls and offensive-line missteps wrecked the offense’s rhythm often.

“It’s just not winning football,” Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman said Wednesday on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan. “Rarely do you see a team that beats themselves that badly able to overcome it on a regular basis. … When you’re the most penalized team in football, it’s a hard thing to overcome.”

McCarthy knows how urgent this fix is and how the shortcomings reflect his coaching acumen.

“Our No. 1 focus moving forward is the penalties. It’s way too many. You look at the pre-snaps. There is no excuse for it.

Transform the trenches

Aikman addressed this, too, when asking: “What’s the identity of the Cowboys?” In the 2010s, Jason Garrett chose offensive line dominance as the team’s MO, Dallas drafting three Pro Bowl linemen in the first round of drafts from 2011 through 2014. The run game flourished, and they controlled the clock. No longer. Aikman said he’s not sure himself the identity.

The Cowboys still boast an All-Pro in right guard Zack Martin. But left tackle Tyron Smith’s 2021 Pro Bowl berth represented a nod to his past more than his present, the 31-year-old’s health claiming at least three games each of the past six seasons, and at least five each of the last two. Center Tyler Biadasz and Prescott botched at least a couple snap exchanges most games, left guard Connor Williams’ penalties cost him a starting gig temporarily, and right tackle La’el Collins missed five games for violation of the league’s personal conduct policy. The result was an on often out-of-sync line that neither protected Prescott long enough for him to cycle through his progressions nor cleared lanes enough for the running game.

“It’s no secret: We need to get better,” Martin said after the wild-card loss. “We got smacked in the mouth early today, and credit to our guys for coming back and fighting through and making it a game. We need to get better.”

Martin will continue to guide the room, and Cowboys coaches are high on swing tackle Terence Steele’s future in the starting lineup. But don’t be surprised if the Cowboys draft an offensive lineman with their first selection of the 2022 NFL draft. McCarthy said offseason evaluations will dig deep on fundamentals. “Pass protection,” he said, “is an area we are going to take a longer look at.”

Loading up at linebacker

Sacks are flashy. Takeaways are exhilarating. But if the Cowboys can’t stop the run, they won't get the ball enough on offense nor enjoy playoff success. The franchise made significant progress this season: From 2020 to 2021, they improved from allowing 158.8 rushing yards per game (31st) to 112.8 (16th). But an inability to stop the run consistently appeared in losses. Consider this: In 12 wins, the Cowboys allowed more than 120 rushing yards just three times. In six losses (playoffs included), all but one team gashed them for more than 120.

The best news for the run defense’s future is the return of rookie All-Pro Micah Parsons, whose versatile usage included 21 tackles for loss. The Cowboys also will retain defensive tackle depth with homegrown talent in Trysten Hill, Neville Gallimore and Osa Odighizuwa. But the problem lies in the likely turnover of coaching, personnel and possibly even scheme. At linebacker, Dallas’ returning roster is thin. 2021 fourth-round linebacker Jabril Cox remains under contract in his return from injured reserve, but 2018 first-rounder Leighton Vander Esch’s contract is expiring. The Cowboys already released Jaylon Smith midseason. Only one year had been awarded to free agent linebacker Keanu Neal and hybrid safety/linebacker Jayron Kearse. Kearse was fantastic but may have played his way out of the Cowboys' price range, not to mention the attraction he could find to play for Quinn’s 2022 team.

“I trust our personnel process,” McCarthy said. “The change we had on defense from a personnel and coaching standpoint, that’s the biggest change that I’ve ever been a part of, both the player and coaching. ... I have the same confidence that we’ll do that moving forward.”

Parse through the passing game

On paper, Prescott was impressive — and even more so when considering the steep climb he faced returning from a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle in October 2020. Through the first half of this season, Prescott’s injury (and a training camp shoulder injury) seemed to be in the past. In 16 games, he completed 68.8% of passes for 4,449 yards and 37 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

“Not good enough, simple as that,” Prescott said Sunday. “I take a lot of pride in my job and take accountability in this loss. I’ve got to be better well before that last play; in certain situations in the game, certain plays in the game I’ve got to be better to help this team win and overcome some of the things we put ourselves into it.”

Prescott will be better positioned this offseason to improve than he has been of late. He’s no longer facing months of rehab, and he won’t face an expiring contract for the first time in three years. Prescott will lock in on footwork and mechanics that looked less clean in the second half of the season after an October calf injury. He’ll study his progressions and timing with receivers, ensuring an even deeper synchronization.

“The challenge of having multiple perimeter options, getting in tune with every guy on every particular route,” McCarthy said. “Working through the route tree, we definitely need to continue working on the details of that.”

In his exit interview, Prescott asked McCarthy about the offseason “quarterback school” the coach led with quarterbacks earlier in his career. They discussed the importance of offseason individual work (Prescott works with a private coach), given how many team responsibilities a quarterback shoulders during practices and at the line of scrimmage on game day.

“I’m a worker,” Prescott said. “I’m looking forward to getting better, becoming a better player and doing what I can to help this team get back to this position and more importantly win.”

Bonus: Curating culture

The Cowboys spoke eagerly and often about the culture they had built this season. Players and coaches described a “brotherhood” of players whose connections transcended age, experience, contract value and even position group.

“We have a special team,” receiver Amari Cooper said of what he described the closest roster he’s been on.

Locker room chemistry is a good starting point. But in 2022, the Cowboys need to leverage that off-field chemistry into deeper on-field connection. Can this Cowboys team show more urgency when the stakes are highest? Can they hold each other accountable to eliminate lackadaisical games like the the one against Denver? And can they show more maturity when penalty calls don't go their way?

McCarthy says handling success is more difficult than handling failure. The Cowboys have room to grow.

“There’s definitely some moments that we did not (handle success well),” McCarthy said. “It’s part of the privilege of pressure of improvement in this league. Sustaining success is clearly…the biggest challenge in this league.

“With the culture that’s been created, we have an incredible foundation to build off and prepare to take the run next year.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Super Bowl or nothing': Dallas Cowboys' five offseason priorities