Cowboys Begin to Clean House: A Fan’s Perspective

The Dallas Cowboys officially began cleaning house Jan. 10 when they hired Bill Callahan, offensive line coach, and Jerome Henderson, defensive backs coach, to upgrade two coaching assistants.

Cowboys nation isn’t sure what this means for the future of the offensive line or defensive secondary, but they do know that it can’t get much worse than it was this past season. Especially on the defensive side of the ball.

The Cowboys ranked in the bottom half of the league in yards passing and middle-of-the-pack in touchdowns allowed as well as interceptions with 15, but five of them came from Sean Lee and Jason Hatcher collectively.

Dallas also allowed 39 sacks this season, but that number would have been much higher if not for the mobility of Tony Romo.

Callahan, the former head coach of the Oakland Raiders and more recently the assistant head coach and offensive line coach for the New York Jets, will fill the position of offensive line coach following the retirement of long-time NFL O-line coach Hudson Houck. Although the Cowboys’ offensive line has been much maligned over the past several years, Houck has been considered one of the best, if not the best, offensive line coach in the league’s history.

His successor has done a pretty good job coaching offensive linemen, too. Three Jets linemen – Nick Mangold, Alan Faneca and D’Brickashaw Ferguson – were Pro Bowl players in 2008 and 2009. His management of the running game in 2009 helped break the team record for yards gained in a season.

Prior to his service in New York, Callahan led the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl in 2002, only the fourth rookie head coach to do so. Oakland lost that Super Bowl to former Raiders head coach John Gruden 48-21.

After his tenure with the Raiders, Callahan was hired to bring the Nebraska Cornhuskers back into national prominence. Despite his efforts, the team never achieved the level of success they had hoped.

Henderson most recently served as the defensive backs coach for the Cleveland Browns since 2009, which allowed the second fewest yards during the 2011 regular season – trailing only Pittsburgh – and surrendered only 16 passing touchdowns, good for fourth in the league. He worked in the same position with the Jets from 2007-2008 before joining the Browns.

The Cowboys’ new defensive backs coach also had an eight-year playing career with the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and the Jets. He replaces long-time Cowboys defensive coach and former head coach Dave Campo.


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