At least one Dallas Cowboys coach didn’t survive the season; Paul Alexander has been let go from his Offensive Line duties today. Assistant OL Coach and former Cowboys player Marc Colombo will take the position over.
Alexander was hired this past offseason after the Cowboys parted ways with Frank Pollack, but the offensive line has not improved. Dallas is still chasing the right fit since losing Bill Callahan, who was credited with making their line the league’s best unit a few years back.
Can Marc Colombo, a former first-round talent at offensive tackle who spent a decade in the NFL and six seasons in Dallas, finally fill those shoes?
The #Cowboys come out of their bye week with a big change: OL coach Paul Alexander is out. Marc Colombo takes over.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 29, 2018
Cowboys also bringing back former offensive line coach Hudson Houck, who has been hired to work with the offensive staff in an advisory capacity.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 29, 2018
To give Colombo some help, Dallas is turning to a familiar and heralded name from its history. Hudson Houck has two Super Bowl rings from his time as Cowboys OL Coach from 1993-2001.
He had a second stint in Dallas from 2008-2011, so he’s worked with Jason Garrett as three phases of Jason’s career; player, offensive coordinator, and head coach.
With Houck assisting Colombo, the Cowboys are hoping to make their offensive line a strength of the team again. The timing of this move isn’t that surprising after their last game, where Washington held Ezekiel Elliott to one of his career-worst games.
Dallas’ struggles this year can be somewhat excused by Travis Frederick’s absence and trying to train rookie Connor Williams on the job. But clearly, the Cowboys felt that Paul Alexander wasn’t helping the situation.
We’ll see what this mid-season change can do to help turn things around.