IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys' season has been over for more than a month. The free-agent signing period is now about a month away.
And the NFL Draft is nearly three months from now as well.
So the Cowboys are still stuck in this no-man's land of the offseason where there might be some decisions getting made, but nothing too official is happening, except on the coaching staff.
The Cowboys did officially name Gary Brown as the new running backs coach on Monday. Brown has spent the last four years in Cleveland, where he coached Trent Richardson to a successful rookie season in 2012 and Peyton Hillis in 2010, when he combined for 1,654 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Brown played eight seasons in the NFL, mostly with the Houston Oilers from 1991-95.
The addition of Brown all but completes the staff in terms of position coaches, as the Cowboys will likely name an assistant strength coach later this week. Currently, there are six new faces here on the coaching staff, but seven new jobs if you count Wes Phillips, who moves over from assistant offensive line to tight ends coach.
The staff will definitely have a new look considering Monte Kiffin is the new defensive coordinator, Rich Bisaccia takes over on special teams and while it doesn't appear Bill Callahan's title will change from offensive coordinator/offensive line coach, he is
expected to take over the play-calling duties, which is probably one of the biggest changes of all next year, aside from moving to a 4-3 defense.
As for personnel, there won't be many changes between now and March 12, the first day of the free agent signing period. The Cowboys can continue to sign "futures" players who were not on active rosters at the end of last season, and they could start releasing high-priced veterans in order to get under the salary cap.
But in terms of signing free agents, the Cowboys can only re-sign their own free agents. So, let's take a look at some of the changes and potential changes facing the Cowboys this offseason, both on the coaching staff and the roster.
Cowboys 2013 coaching staff changes:
Monte Kiffin, defensive coordinator
Rich Bisaccia, special teams coordinator
Rod Marinelli, defensive line
Derek Dooley, wide receivers
Wes Phillips, tight ends
Gary Brown, running backs
Frank Pollard, assistant offensive line
Jimmy Robinson, senior consultant
Cowboys 2013 Free Agents:
Exclusive Rights:
LB Orie Lemon
Restricted Free Agents:
C Phil Costa
S Danny McCray
DT Brian Schaefering
Unrestricted Free Agents:
LB Victor Butler
CB Michael Coe
DT Kenyon Coleman
G Derrick Dockery
S Eric Frampton
CB Mike Jenkins
RB Felix Jones
LS L.P. Ladouceur
P Brian Moorman
WR Kevin Ogletree
S Charlie Peprah
TE John Phillips
LB Brady Poppinga
LB Ernie Sims
LB Anthony Spencer
