Cowboys Fire Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan After Four Seasons

Linehan led Dallas to the NFL's No. 14 scoring offense in 2018.

The Cowboys fired offensive coordinator Scott Linehan on Friday. Linehan spent the last four seasons in Dallas after a five-year stint in Detroit. 

"This was not an easy decision because of how highly we regard Scott Linehan as a football coach and as a person," head coach Jason Garrett said in a statement. "He and I had some really positive, substantive and open discussions which took place in the latter part of this week, an we ultimately agreed that it would be in the best interest of all the parties involved if we were to make a change at this [offensive coordinator] position.

"This was very much a mutual decision, and there was a great deal of common ground shared understanding between both of us during our meetings. Scott has had an incredibly positive impact on our football team. he has been instrumental in the development and success of a significant number of our veteran and younger players. He is an outstanding football coach, a great friend and we wish him and his family nothing but the absolute best moving forward."

Linehan was Dallas' offensive coordinator from 2015-18. The Cowboys finished in the top-ten in points per game once under Linehan and ended the year as the NFL's No. 3 scoring offense in 2016. Dallas ranked No. 14 in points per game in 2018, with six games under 20 points.

The Cowboys lost to the Rams 30-22 in the NFC divisional round. Dallas defeated Seattle 24-22 in the NFC wild card round.

Linehan has worked as an offensive coordinator for four teams over 13 years. He served as the Rams' head coach from 2006-08 with a career record of 13–35. 

On Friday afternoon, Linehan released a statement sharing that he and Garrett decided on Wednesday that a "fresh start was probably the best for both of us."

"As Jason expressed, we met on Wednesday and had a good, direct talk. At the end, we resolved that a fresh start was probably the best for both of us," Linehan said. "The Dallas Cowboys have been nothing but great to me, first class all the way. There's a reason that they are the most valuable sports franchise on the planet. And I'll always respect Jason as a coach, and I consider him a good friend. I'll miss my fellow coaches and my players a great deal. But life is about change and growth, and I very much look forward to my next challenge."