Inside The Star
We all know the Cowboys lack a defensive identity, and that is a problem that needs to be fixed after the season.
This isn’t just a bad season. What I’ve watched is a defense that never knows what it wants to be. There is no calling card and no offense feared anything this defense has thrown at them.
The defensive leadership has failed on multiple fronts. From playing in a scheme that doesn’t match the personnel, to adding big names to the front four and still not stopping the run.
I don’t want the next hire to be only about finding a better playbook. The man leading this defense has to decide what this defense is supposed to be.
Because guessing hasn’t worked.
I don’t want another coordinator who sounds good in a press conference and then spends Sundays reacting to offenses instead of dictating.
I’m tired of defenses that look different every week but never better.
Good defenses have an identity:
Has anyone of you who have watched the Cowboys defense this year seen any of these traits in a game?
That is why the names about to be brought up matter — not because of fame, but because of what they represent.
We all know and love Al Harris. His stint in Dallas as the Secondary Coach under Dan Quinn produced the best years of our current cornerbacks.
In Chicago, Al Harris has made the Bears secondary one of the better secondaries in the NFL.
Word around the campfire is in the next few games, Harris will be auditioning for a defensive coordinator position next season.
What stands out to me about him is how hard his players compete, tackle, play with an edge, and don’t look confused. That alone would be an upgrade.
Yes, he would be a first-time defensive coordinator, and I’m fine with that.
How many times have the Cowboys tried retreads at defensive coordinator, and it did not work out? I’m looking at you, Mike Zimmer and Matt Eberflus.
Harris feels like someone who would set the standard, not just go with the flow.
The one retread that worked, and it hurt to see him go. What he did in Dallas worked, and it’s been all downhill since he left for Washington.
The defense played faster, they believed in him, understood the defense, and all of this matters more than people might want to admit.
Context matters too. His situation in Washington has changed the conversation around him.
Anyone can see his seat is getting hot in DC and even after taking over play calling duties on defense, the results haven’t magically turned around.
If we were able to see Quinn come back, it would not be about innovation. It would be about fixing the confidence and structure of this defense....
