Scott Linehan's career and why he was never the right O.C. for Dak

After two years of most Cowboys fans calling for Linehan's job on all social media sites, he is finally out as the offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys. Linehan, who has called the plays since 2014, was fired by Jerry on Friday morning, a couple days after Jason Garret said that he will most likely be on the staff next year. The firing comes after a ten win season with one playoff win, followed by a tough loss to the Rams in the divisional round. It seemed like his time had come after almost being fired after the bye week this year. Even though he did have a few successful seasons, I never saw him for being the reason for the offensive success. In 2014, we had maybe one of the best offensive lines of all time. With Martin, Smith, and Frederik all playing at the highest level, Demarco Murray was able to win the rushing title. The amazing run game made it easy for Romo and Dez, who was in his prime, to connect on the outside for big plays. The 2015 season was a mess with Romo going down early in the season and there was terrible quarterback play in his absence. In 2016 Dak took over the offense and once again, I believe the offensive line was in its prime, with a still healthy Dez, Witten and Beasley to get open for Dak. Zeke could run all day on that team and it made it easy for Dak to hit open receivers. Then comes 2017, and Linehan finally had to be creative. Dez was never healthy and clearly out of his prime and Witten looked like he had one or two more years left. Zeke was dealing with his suspension. The offensive line was a little banged up and we need creativity in the offense, but instead, we ran the same exact plays we did in 2016 when we had a healthy o-line, Dez, and a younger Witten. We won 9 games that year and missed the playoffs. After that year he should have been gone. It looked like Dak had regressed and it was time to bring someone in who could help Dak grow for his third year. After deciding to keep him for the 2018 season, we started out looking the same as we did in the 2017 campaign, and I wanted him gone more than ever. He was an uncreative play caller and our offense was depended on Zeke getting over 100 yards in the rush game. We looked bad against the Panthers, Giants, Seahawks, and Texans. There was nothing creative happening and no one was getting open. Then Jerry made the move to get Amari. After that move, Dak's numbers increased and our offense looked much better, but how can you credit Linehan? If you watched replays of Amari's routes, he would get open and have one to two yards of separation most plays, making him an easy target for Dak. I believe that our offensive line also got better as the year went on. After rookie Connor Williams went out and Xander Su'a-Filo subbed in, we looked stronger in the run game and Zeke had a couple monster games. Dak still missed a few throws deep, but overall he looked slightly better then he had earlier in the year. Then we make it to the playoffs, we beat the Seahawks, who tried to run the ball way too much and let us have that game. Dak played well and so did the offense, but there was room for improvement. Against the Rams, you can not blame the offense entirely because the defense couldn't stop the run, but there was one moment when I knew Linehan really needed to go. It was fourth and one and we were down by eight, a one-score game and the biggest play of the game. Earlier we already got a fourth and one conversion on a Zeke run up the middle, so the whole world expected that same play call again. Of course, classic Scott Linehan called a halfback dive with Zeke and the Rams sent everyone. There was no chance for Zeke. Later in the game, we had another fourth and one when the game was basically over, and Linehan called a quarterback role to the right with an option to pass it, easy first down. A good play caller would have used that play when it really mattered. That's the moment I knew that we needed the change in order to win. Linehan is a decent coach but was never the right guy for the Dallas Cowboys, and especially for Dak and his development. He should have been fired after the 2017 season, but now is better than never. Let's hope Jerry hires someone who can spark the offense with a new playbook and can bring Dak to the next level, not wait for Jerry to surround him with superstars to make him look good.