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Cowboys 1st & 10: Jimmy and Cliff are in, But ...; Breaking down Dallas' LB situation

In this edition of Cowboys 1st & 10 we start to break down, position-by-position, 2020 NFL Draft needs, along with Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame news.

1) 2020 DALLAS COWBOYS DRAFT NEEDS: LINEBACKER

CURRENT PLAYERS AT POSITION: Sean Lee (starter), Jaylon Smith (starter), Leighton Vander Esch (starter), Ray-Ray Armstrong, Luke Gifford, Justin March, Joe Thomas, Chris Covington, Malcolm Smith.

2020 FREE AGENTS: Lee, March, Thomas, Smith.

DRAFT NEED: Medium.

THE BREAKDOWN: The first thing the Cowboys have to figure out is what to do with Lee, and much of that decision will rest with the veteran linebacker. It’s clear that he still has something in the tank. The 2-5 formations in the back seven, along with the emergences of Smith and Vander Esch, has the potential to extend his career a year or two longer than most of us thought. Lee has value as a part-time starter on this team. We saw that several times this past season. So Lee has to decide what’s next, and that will influence what the Cowboys do in free agency and in the draft.

So will March and Thomas. Both are quality depth that the Cowboys, fortunately, haven’t had to tap this season. Because of that, when they hit the market, it’s hard to gauge what the interest will be. Both will be looking for bigger deals (Thomas makes less than $2 million, March makes less than $1 million). So if neither find the deal they’re looking for, they could end up back in Dallas. Smith feels like a rental at this point, but he wouldn’t be a bad keep for the Cowboys if they don’t have to overpay. And Vander Esch’s injury situation bears monitoring this offseason.

However free agency falls for the Cowboys, there’s value in them considering taking a Day 2 selection on a linebacker that could act as depth and, eventually a quality replacement for Lee once he retires. If Lee chooses to hang it up after this season, then the need becomes more prevalent. I expect Lee will return, which means the Cowboys can be choosy about taking a linebacker in this draft. But I expect them to address the position.

2) COWBOYS HEADED TO THE HALL (AND ONE THAT SHOULD BE)

After I filed First and 10 last weekend former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson learned that he would be part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Centennial Class, a group of 20 new Hall of Famers selected as part of the NFL’s 100th anniversary. Johnson, who led the Cowboys to two Super Bowl titles in the 1990s, gave the Cowboys their second head coach in the Hall, after Tom Landry.

And then there was much rejoicing. And Troy cried.

Johnson and former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher learned they had been selected that weekend. The other 18 players, coaches and contributors would learn their fate on Wednesday.

Another former Cowboy that I’ve been lobbying for the past few years finally got his due on Wednesday as well.

But one former Cowboys player that is richly deserving of the nod, according to me and many others, did not. And, unfortunately, he learned it with cameras rolling.

Yes, Pearson didn’t get in. And, honestly, I thought he would get the nod this time. Now, that list of players for consideration was incredible. But as Scruggs’s tweet mentioned, Pearson is the only member of the First Team of the All-Decade team of the 1970s that isn’t in the Hall or headed to the Hall. What makes it worse is that Harold Carmichael — a deserving player in his own right and a Second-Team member of the Team of the 1970s — earned selection to the Hall on Wednesday. It gets even worse when you consider, as Charean Williams pointed out, that Pearson is the only wide receiver from the All-Decade teams of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s to not earn selection to the Hall.

I just don’t get it. I honestly don’t. If Pearson is considered to be one of the best 22 players in the NFL for the entire decade of the 1970s and the other 21 are in, then why isn’t he? It’s patently ridiculous.

The sad part is that I’m not sure Pearson will ever get in now.

3) STAUBACH TAKES CENTER STAGE DURING THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and former Navy quarterback Roger Staubach was named the No. 11 college player of all-time during halftime of the Clemson-LSU National Championship game in New Orleans, a culmination of the college game’s 150th anniversary celebration. Staubach was the highest-ranked former Cowboys player on the list.

4) KELLEN WILL CALL THE PLAYS

On Thursday new Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy revealed to reporters that offensive coordinator Kellen Moore will continue to call the plays in 2020. It was a mild surprise, given that McCarthy called plays for most of his tenure as head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

The logic?

“Kellen was someone I was watching from afar, regardless of what opportunity worked out for myself,'' the coach said. "The opportunity to work with Kellen was something I was going to pursue either way.”

What’s more, the Cowboys will use a West Coast system, but they’ll keep the terminology from last year to keep things consistent for Moore and quarterback Dak Prescott. This, to me, is the most interesting part, transitioning a West Coast system into the terminology of what the Cowboys were running, which was more of an Air Coryell system. We will have to watch how that works.

5) WITTEN HAS OPTIONS, INCLUDING …

Cowboys tight end Jason Witten is pondering his options for 2020. They could include playing, retiring, going back to the broadcast booth (doubtful) or even coaching. Of course, he won’t be Cowboys head coach, like some Witten fans would like. But, new head coach Mike McCarthy suggested earlier this week that Witten, should he retire, could be offered what CowboysSI.com termed a “lower-level staff” position. But Witten has to make his decision first.

Here you can find our complete coaching tracker for McCarthy’s new staff, including hew hires for this week.

6) A BOOK FOR ALL COLLEGE FOOTBALL FANS

Looking for a great New Year’s gift for your college football fan? The 2019 College Football America Yearbook is out at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com and features Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence on the cover. Myself and our two other contributors, Chuck Cox and Kendall Webb, travel the country every fall covering college football games each week for using the following year’s book.

The College Football America 2019 Yearbook features more than 930 college football teams from the United States and Canada in more than 250 striking, full-color pages. That includes every team from the NCAA (FBS, FCS, Division II and Division III), NAIA, NJCAA, CCCAA and U Sports (Canada). It also includes updates on club football, one-year postgraduate prep/sports academies and Mexican college football, along with dozens of action shots and stadium photos taken by the CFAY staff.

Plus, the great thing about what I do for the yearbook is that I get to see great college football players each week that COULD become Dallas Cowboys next season, and I get to bring that experience to you through scouting reports and other stories throughout the next several months.

Get a copy today at the links below:

Amazon.com

BarnesandNoble.com

7) McCARTHY’S FIRST WEEK AT ‘THE STAR’

Earlier this week Mike McCarthy talked about his first week in Dallas and said he hadn’t left ‘The Star.’ Well, Mike Fisher helps define exactly what ‘The Star’ is when it comes to McCarthy’s boast that it’s been 24/7 in ‘The Star.”

Meanwhile, the guy who gave up his office for McCarthy is New York-bound. Fish's column on Jason Garrett and the Giants is here.

8) NUSSMEIER AS QBs COACH

One of the most interesting pieces of the new Cowboys staff is a holdover from last year’s staff — Doug Nussmeier. Nussmeier was the Cowboys’ tight ends coach last year but now he’ll move to overseeing the quarterbacks, which means he’ll be Dak Prescott’s new mentor.

Nussmeier was a former quarterback in college (Idaho), a former NFL quarterback in the NFL and the CFL and then moved into coaching after the 2000 season. He has almost exclusively been a quarterbacks coach and/or offensive coordinator for, among others, Michigan State, the St. Louis Rams, Fresno State, Washington, Alabama, Michigan and Florida. Probably his best-known work is with Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, whom Nussmeier mentored during the Crimson Tide’s national title season in 2012.

Most Cowboys observers were complimentary of Jon Kitna’s work with Prescott in 2019, which led to the best numbers of Prescott’s career. But Prescott and the rest of the quarterbacks should be in good hands with Nussmeier.

9) TWEET OF THE WEEK

10) THE FINAL WORD

"It's great to see them back where they should be,'' McCarthy said, part of this fine piece by Fish after a small writers' group sit-down with the new coach inside The Star. "You've got to give those guys a lot of credit. I think the roster and the coaching has given them a chance to get to the Super Bowl."

Read it for thoughts on McCarthy the dad, the fan and the coach. ...and thanks for the literally millions of views per week recognizing that the best way to get inside The Star is to get inside CowboysSI.com.