With the Cowboys having parted ways with offensive coordinator Kellen Moore this offseason, head coach Mike McCarthy is taking over the team’s offense this season. McCarthy, who called the plays all 13 of his seasons as head coach in Green Bay, has tweaked the playbook.
McCarthy and quarterback Dak Prescott have estimated that 30 to 35 percent of the offense is new.
Prescott was asked Wednesday whether, after an offseason of work in it, he “owns” the offense now.
“I think I’m in a good spot,” Prescott said, via Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press. “There’s more to grow. I’ll use these five weeks to make sure I’m crossing my T’s and dotting my I’s. But I feel like when you have Mike, as open as he is about communicating, making sure I know what I like, what’s at the top of my chart, maybe what I don’t feel great about, it’s been pretty easy to make sure that I’m doing that and I’m mastering what I’m good at. I feel great at the things we’ve put in that we’ve done. I’m saying own it but want to own it more.”
The Cowboys twice ranked first in yards (2019, 2021) and once ranked first in points (2021) in Moore’s time calling the plays. The offense this season will become a cross of Moore’s and the West Coast that McCarthy ran in Green Bay.
“Funny, this is the Texas Coast,” Prescott said of the offense’s nickname. “We just renamed it that, the quarterbacks. It’s got definitely some West Coast principles, but has a little bit of what we’ve done in the past and just obviously marrying them together with a lot of detail and maybe in a sense, a system that’s not out there. So there you go.”
The Cowboys ranked 11th in yards and fourth in points last season, but Prescott threw a career-high 15 interceptions. They have added tight end Luke Schoonmaker and receiver Brandin Cooks, while losing tight end Dalton Schultz, running back Ezekiel Elliott and receiver Noah Brown.
They hope changes in personnel and in the playbook equal even more success in 2023. Prescott said he’s energized and refreshed after a successful offseason, and he’s now ready for training camp.