DALLAS — The 2021 Dallas Cowboys had a successful campaign based on expectations following a dismal season in 2020. A 12-5 record and winning the NFC East was a step in the right direction in Mike McCarthy’s second season. Despite the Wild Card exit, it felt like the Cowboys were starting to click with the coaching staff.
McCarthy made the swift decision to fire Mike Nolan after his lone season as defensive coordinator, and brought in Dan Quinn to turn around the defense. Quinn was saddled with a unit that produced one of the worst seasons in team history, and he was asked to have them play at an acceptable level.
Meanwhile, Kellen Moore returned for his third season as the offensive coordinator and, with quarterback Dak Prescott returning from injury, Moore’s group was supposed to carry the team. The success that Moore had in his first year as coordinator – albeit under former head coach Jason Garrett – where his offense led the league in total yards and was sixth in scoring, was encouraging with Prescott on the comeback trail.
Special teams was again led by John Fassel after being brought over from the Los Angeles Rams by McCarthy. With Fassel, Dallas had made strides after a disastrous two-year tenure under Keith O’Quinn.
The final product for Cowboys was a solid season, one in which both coordinators were interviewing for head coaching gigs. Quinn had been around the block before, serving as the head coach for the Atlanta Falcons for five-and-a-half seasons. This winter was Moore’s first ride on the NFL coaching carousel, although he did interview for his alma mater’s opening at Boise State following the 2020 season.
After the 2021 season, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see the Cowboys lose one, or both, of their coordinators. Instead, both are likely to return.
Quinn led a massive turnaround for the Dallas defense. A unit that was dreadful at best under Nolan, played well under Quinn’s tutelage. The Cowboys led the league in takeaways with 34, with 26 of those coming via interceptions. Quinn’s defense also produced five defensive touchdowns.
Just as extraordinary, Quinn helped the Cowboys get past the 40-sack threshold for the first time since 2011 with 41 sacks. That was quite a feat, considering starting defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory missed 15 games combined. Dorance Armstrong, one of the top substitutes, also missed four games but still produced a career-high five sacks.
Quinn helped make an All-Pro out of rookie Micah Parsons, who had 13 sacks, saw cornerback Trevon Diggs snare the most interceptions (11) in any season since 1981, and put safety Jayron Kearse in position to have a career year.
With all of those accomplishments, there was buzz around the league about Quinn becoming a head coach again. After flirting with a few opportunities, Quinn announced that he was coming back to the Cowboys for another season.
On the offensive side of the ball, Moore was in demand as well. The Cowboys, for the second time in his three years as offensive coordinator, finished as the top offense in the league. Moore’s offense led the league in total yards and points per game in 2021.
Despite the unit having several injuries, suspensions, and shuffling along the offensive line, Prescott managed to set a team-record for touchdown passes with 37, running back Ezekiel Elliott topped 1,000 yards rushing while playing with a nagging leg injury, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb surpassed 1,100 yards for the first time in his career, and Dalton Schultz hit the 800-yard receiving mark, the first for a Cowboys tight end since Jason Witten in 2013.
Ultimately Moore guided one of the best offenses in football and received requests to interview for head coaching jobs. He appeared to be a finalist for the Miami Dolphins gig before they hired former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. If he had left, it would have been something of a rarity.
A second-half slide showed that there were cracks in the façade that will need to be addressed, but Moore helped steward the offense to a team-record for points in a season with 530. Returning to Dallas to pilot a talented offensive unit with hopes of landing more opportunities next season should benefit Moore.
Not long ago, the Cowboys and their fans were worried about losing at least one of their coordinators. Instead, both return for some much-needed continuity. The season didn’t end the way that they had hoped, but the team gets Quinn and Moore back to finish what they started.
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