Mailbag: Should new coaches build for the future?

(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)

Do you think our new coaching staff should focus on installing schemes that maximize our current talent (better chance of near-term success)? Or do you think that they should re-build and install schemes that are true to their experience and long-term vision of what works best in today's NFL (better chance of long-term success)? – Les Hoffman/Pell City, AL

Patrik: Ideally, in the scenario you laid forth, the answer is both. In reality, however, I'm of the opinion that coaches should always play to the strength of their current roster and worry far less about how to make pieces fit into certain places, because the latter is how you get Taco Charlton on the roster instead of T.J. Watt. Making it about maximizing the current players will help both now and in the longterm because it's a philosophy that can never be aged our dated, as it's fluid and never static anyway.

The good news is I'm hearing the right things in this regard from coaches on both sides of the ball — many making it clear they're focused on putting players in the best position to succeed based on what they do well, and not simply shoehorning circular pegs into square holes. Focus on the Jimmies and Joes and watch how frequently the X's and O's thrive off of that thought process.

Tommy: It has to be a mixture of both. On average, a head coach is usually in their role with a team for right around four years. That isn't enough time to fully deconstruct and reconstruct an entire roster to fit a scheme or vice versa, so you have to be able to work with what you have to some extent and add to it as you go along. In the case of the Cowboys, I think this coaching staff gives you the balance of continuity and change that allows you to maximize what the team currently has and allows you to build towards the future.

Regardless, I'm a believer in building from the inside out (offensive and defensive line first, then going outwards after that) and I think the Cowboys still have work to do to solidify their line of scrimmage game, something that will be crucial for this staff.