A college defensive mastermind sparks speculation. Could the Cowboys bring disruptive havoc to their struggling defense, echoing a past bold hiring?
The Dallas Cowboys were an off-balanced team last season, with a really good offense paired with a really bad defense. The Cowboys settled at the bottom of the league’s purgatory as being the one of the worst in yards allowed and points allowed.
It was so bad that defensive coordinator Matt Ebeflus was fired after just one season in Dallas. Coach Brian Schottenheimer now is the market for a new boss of the defense. NFL coaches Jim Leonhard is among the many on the short list. But what if there was a wildcard candidate?
The Miami Hurricanes are the first team to host the national championship game, taking on the Indiana Hoosiers. The catalyst for this championship run has been a strong defense, unleashed by defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman.
The Hurricanes are one of the top defenses in college football
· No. 5 in scoring defense (14 points/game)
· No. 6 in rushing defense (86 yards/game)
· No. 1 in sacks
· No. 7 in tackles for loss
· No. 12 in interceptions
· No. 11 in opponents’ 3rd down conversions
· No. 11 in turnover margin
As the evidence above shows, Hetherman teaches creating havoc on the front line of the defense, focusing on sacks and tackles for loss to create negative plays. That is something that was not in the Cowboys playbook last season.
Hetherman’s Hurricanes posted four games of nine or more tackles for loss, 11 games of five or more sacks and 10 games under 100 yards rushing. They allowed 2.95 yards per carry.
Could Hetherman be a candidate for the Cowboys defensive coordinator position? That's the thought of eteran columnist Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News.
It would not be the first time that the Cowboys hired a top-notch coach from the Hurricanes staff.
When Cowboys owner Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989, he had his own thoughts about who would coach his team. Jones promptly fired legendary coach Tom Landry and hired a fiery Hurricanes coach and former teammate at Arkansas, Jimmy Johnson. Jones and Johnson won a national title together with the Razorbacks in 1964.
While at Miami, Johnson went 52-9 in five seasons and won the national championship in 1987. Johnson, along with players like Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith, won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Cowboys in 1992 and 1993.
If there is a knock against Hetherman, it is he is a college coach and has no NFL experience. But neither did Johnson.
They say defense wins championships. Can Schottenheimer look past the NFL experience factor and tap a fiery guy like Hetherman to lead the Dallas defense, someone who can infuse the Cowboys with the will and tenacity to wreak havoc on opposing offenses and get back on the path to a Super Bowl?
The answer is in the pages of Jerry’s playbook.