ESPN analyst Ryan Clark questions Mike McCarthy calling plays for Dallas Cowboys

The way the Dallas Cowboys finished their playoff games versus the 49ers the last two years brought heavy criticism onto offensive coordinator Kellen Moore but that doesn’t mean the team’s decision to mutually part ways with their former QB is risk-free. With Mike McCarthy turning loose eight members of his coaching staff, one has to wonder whether the Cowboys are risking the ruin of a pretty good thing.

On Get Up on Monday, ESPN analyst Ryan Clark laid out the reasons why it was time for a change in Dallas.

“I think it is the right move,” Clark said. “When you look at this team, this is a move that tells Mike McCarthy: ‘This is your last move. This is your last opportunity to get this right.’ When you look at this team failing in the postseason in the last two seasons and failing offensively, you say, okay, the quarterback’s not going to change… but that means you have to do something at the offensive coordinator position.”

Although the former Steelers star approved of the Cowboys’ decision to move on from Moore, he questioned whether McCarthy still has what it takes to call the offense on top of his head coaching duties. He hasn’t played both roles since his days with the Packers. He called the plays for the bulk of his time in Green Bay. McCarthy only briefly gave up those duties in 2015 and took them back in the same season.

“I don’t know if that means to allow Mike McCarthy calling the plays,” Clark added. “Has he continued to grow with the game to be creative enough, to be locked in enough, to help Dak Prescott and this offense excel? I do not know. But I do know it had gotten stale with Kellen Moore.

“And we talk all the time about how many points this team scored offensively. This is a team that had 229 points off of turnovers, that led the entire league, 23% of what they got came from the defense in the last two seasons.”

Cowboys part ways with Kellen Moore

Less than 24 hours after his dismissal, Moore is now headed to L.A. to coordinate the Chargers offense. He’ll have the opportunity to face off against his former squad in 2023. The Chargers are one of Dallas’s nine road opponents.

Moore took over the Dallas Cowboys offense in 2019. He led the team to top-six finishes in points per game in three of four seasons as offensive coordinator. The Cowboys also finished No. 1 in yards per game in 2021 and 2019.

Moore, once a standout at Boise State, began his coaching career in the NFL with Dallas. He first served as a player-mentor for Prescott during the 2015 season. He took over the quarterbacks room in 2018 before moving into the offensive coordinator role in Jason Garrett’s final season.