FRISCO, Texas – Defense coordinator Mike Nolan and defense coach Jim Tomsula will not return to the Dallas Cowboys for the 2021 season, the team announced Friday.
Last season, the Cowboys (6-10) allowed the most points in franchise history (473) and finished 31st in the league in defense. In the loss to the New York Giants season, they finished 23 points, including 20 in the first half, to an offense that recorded no more than 19 in five weeks.
The unit has played better in the last four games with 12 takeaways after getting just 11 in the first twelve games, but this has been helped in part by rugby quarterbacks in Cincinnati, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
“I appreciate my relationship with Mike and Jim, and I am grateful for the contributions that both made to our team in difficult circumstances in 2020,” coach Mike McCarthy said in a statement. “These are never easy decisions to make, and we wish them and their families the best in the future.”
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones spoke at 105.3 The Fan in Dallas at various times during the season about the shocking switch – from a 4-3 look to a hybrid look – that the Cowboys had during an off-season in which the coaches could only virtually meet with the players.
The Cowboys defense could not gain practical experience before starting a shortened training camp, but they struggled badly. They finished 23rd in steps per game (31st against the run, 11th against the pass) and 28th in points (29.6). The Cowboys allowed 69 plays of 20 yards or more, including 51 passes and 18 runs.
In the three other times the Cowboys allowed a franchise record in points, the organization made a scheme change or a coaching change.
After conceding 436 points in 2010, Jason Garrett was named full-time head coach after taking over from Wade Phillips in the middle of the season, and he appointed Rob Ryan as defense coordinator. In 2013, they allowed 432 points in Monte Kiffin’s first year as coordinator, and he was replaced by Rod Marinelli. After Bill Parcells gave up 405 points in 2004, he switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 scheme, but kept Mike Zimmer as his coordinator.
Head coach Mike McCarthy and Nolan have a long background together. In 2005, Nolan appointed McCarthy as his offensive coordinator at the San Francisco 49ers, helping him earn the Green Bay Packers headline a year later.
But the defense could not find its feet. While sustaining some injuries to Leighton Vander Esch (collarbone, ankle), Trysten Hill (knee) and Trevon Diggs (foot), they were not hit as hard as the Cowboys offense.
Their bigger pickups for free agent were either injured in training camp (defensive lineman Gerald McCoy), did not get the team out of camp (safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix), were traded (Everson Griffen) or were released due to poor play the middle of the season (defensive attack Dontari Poe, cornerback Daryl Worley).
If the Cowboys are looking for a replacement, George Edwards has spent the year as a senior defensive assistant. He was Zimmer’s defense coordinator from 2014 to 2019.
But the first question to be answered is what type of scheme the Cowboys want to use. In Green Bay, McCarthy used a 3-4 scheme for most of his tenure. If he wants to continue with the hybrid look that Nolan has tried to use, the addition of players who fit the scheme is a priority out of season. The Packers have been using a 3-4 scheme in Green Bay for the past three years.