Replacing Vanilla Pudding: Potential Dallas Cowboys OC Options
Ding-dong, the bell has tolled its last time for Kellen “Vanilla Pudding” Moore. He has shades of goodness this season, but the Dallas Cowboys offense was way too inconsistent to feel happy about the coaching.
With Dak Prescott, Zeke Elliott, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb all locked up for the next two seasons at least, the next offensive coordinator in Dallas will need to work with this core and be able to add the necessary pieces to turn the Cowboys offense into an NFL powerhouse.
Below are some choices, not necessarily top picks, who I think could come in and work with what the Dallas Cowboys have in place, as well as make the decisions necessary to keep our offense motivated, well oiled, and firing on all cylinders.
Byron Leftwich
I haven’t really heard his name being tossed around, and that may be because of the rumours projecting that he lands the head coach job in Jacksonville, but I think this would be interesting.
Leftwich is a former NFL quarterback who had mild success at an elite level. He coached Winston in 2019 to his best season of Winston’s career, leading the league in attempts, yards, and career highs in average yards per attempt and touchdowns, but had a lead leading 30 interceptions.
Yes, some of those could be bad decision-making, no doubt, but interceptions due to poor decision-making was a problem we saw emerge last year with Dak Prescott, and so that’s a bit of a red flag.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers also had the highest pass play rate in the NFL (66%), which may or may not be good. We here at CanFan would plead with Kellen Moore to run the ball more often. So this kind of is contrary to what we wanted to see. However, maybe a change is necessary if the running game isn’t what it used to be, or what we thought it used to be.
Leftwich also coached Tom Brady for the last 3 seasons, which has clouded his coaching quality, as some have argued TB12 was basically running the offense. There might be too much unknown here for the Cowboys to put him on the short list, if the Jaguars don’t end up hiring him.
Todd Monken
Todd Monken is someone who I think is really interesting. He coached the University of Georgia to back-to-back National Championships, taking a team that averaged 31 points before his tenure, increasing that average point total to 41 points over the last 3 years! Something the Dallas Cowboys have had an issue with is getting the ball moving early or just having explosive, moral breaking offensive drives. With an offensive mind like Monken, the Cowboys offensive could see more consistency, higher scoring games, and hopefully a more exciting and inventive offense in general.
Monken also has had success both running and passing the ball, averaging over 200 yards per game on the ground and nearly 300 yards per game in the air. This versatility would allow the offense to adjust as necessary, depending on what kind of defense we are up against.
Finally, Monken has worked with Stetson Bennett, a walk on QB, who passed for over 4000 yards and had 37 touchdowns, enough to become the first Heisman Finalist for the Bulldogs in the last 30 years. I think this shows that he knows how to work with a quarterback and scheme for them, or have them buy into and perform well in his scheme; there is an identity in his offense that works with good quarterbacks. This could be exactly what Dak needs.
Mike LaFleur
Mike LaFleur is the younger brother of Matt Lafleur, coach of the Green Bay Packers, so football is in his blood. He was the 49ers assistant coach and passing game coordinator from 2017-2020, working with Jimmy Garrapalo. This combo had their best season in 2019, ranking 2nd in points and 4th in offensive yards. Not all the credit can go to LaFleur, though, and the rest of his tenure in San Francisco was ho-hum.
LaFleur spent his last two seasons as the Jets offensive coordinator, coaching an offense led by Garrett and Zack Wilson. The former proved to be a heartwarming underdog story, at least for a game or two, while the latter just turned out to be a piece of shit.
He’s had hit or miss success, but maybe LaFleur would fare better with a veteran quarterback in Dak Prescott.
Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson not only has the best last name in this coaching list, but he also has the least experience. Still, the second year quarterback coach for the shitty Eagles has already had the term “head coach vibes” thrown around with his name.
Johnson previously coached Dak Prescott at Mississippi State, where Dak threw for 7200 yards and 56 touchdowns and only 16 picks in his 2 years under BJ. Dak might not have the legs that Jalen Hurts does, but Johnson knows as good as anyone the strengths of Prescott, and has proven to be able to work with an MVP-calibre quarterback. He might even be the key to Dak Prescott having his name thrown into the annual MVP ring.'
Kliff Kingsbury
Kliff Kingsbury came into the 2022 NFL season ranked as the 4th best head coach by PFF. While the Cardinals have a superstar in Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins, there wasn’t much more worth celebrating in Arizona.
Kingsbury still managed to put together a formidable offense, even if it fell apart as the Cardinals offense was marred by injuries (which team doesn’t have its injury woes, though?). It would be interesting to see how Kingsbury would operate under the guiding hand and watchful eyes of Big Mike. It could make or break Kingsbury’s reputation as a coach worthy of coaching an NFL team.
Sometimes it's good for head coaches to step back for a year or two and let the pressure cool off, and build some praise while only having to focus on one side of the ball. He was a good play caller in college, and he could revitalize his career in Dallas.
