Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys’ offseason needs are already a hot topic, and this team has plenty of them. However, in addition to adding more talent, key personnel changes are also needed to remove certain players and coaches from their current roles. If this team wants to improve next season, here are five individuals who should no longer be part of it.
That Dallas got six seasons and 91 starts (assuming he starts Sunday) out of an undrafted player is a success story, but it’s time to get real about our right tackle. Steele has never really reached the “riches” end of this “rags” story, at least in terms of what he’s brought to the Cowboys. He is indeed a very capable run blocker, at times among the better ones in the league. But we’re two decades removed from the time when that could excuse being a consistent liability in pass protection.
Steele turns 29 in June and is on his third offensive line coach, so the pass pro woes aren’t going to get any better. If anything, as athleticism starts to decline, he’s only going to become more vulnerable. And if the Cowboys are going to give Tyler Guyton more time, as they should, they can’t afford to keep ignoring this evergreen error on the other side of the line.
Financially, it’s an easy move. Steele is set to count over $18 million against the 2026 salary cap and has only $9 million left in dead money on the contract. They can outright cut him for an immediate $8.75 million in cap savings, usable as soon as the free agent market opens in March, or do a June-1st cut for $14 million in relief that can be used further down the calendar.
Of course, you have to then use some resources to replace him. Worst-case scenario: Guyton and Nathan Thomas are your starting tackles next year. Much better case; have Thomas as your swing and find a better pass protector to start. Maybe you spend a high pick on a Day 1 starter, or you go get a different veteran. But for an offense that likes balance, you need a starting tackle with a more balanced skill set. At least Guyton offers you some flexibility, with the viable option of moving him to the right side.
And no, we don’t want that new left tackle to be Tyler Smith. Keep your All-Pro guard at guard, strengthening the guys around him, and work out something else on the edges.
Was Eberflus’ return to Dallas sabotaged by the Micah Parsons trade? Yes, at least partially. But that doesn’t explain why things completely broke down with Trevon Diggs, or why the former linebackers coach’s linebackers were the worst unit on the field. This was an epically bad performance across the board, and a season of almost nothing but fireable offenses.
When he was first hired, Eberflus said the right things about adjusting his scheme to the...
