The Dallas Cowboys might have ended the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season, but they just handed them the best gift of the offseason.
According to The Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys are handing play calling duties to head coach Mike McCarthy. The move is effective immediately, which means McCarthy will be running Dak Prescott’s offense next season.
That means Kellen Moore is the odd man out, and left holding the bag for the Cowboys’ collapse against the 49ers last week. With McCarthy taking over play calling, Moore has been relieved of his duties and has been fired.
It’s a bag that the Bucs are likely going to fill with copious amounts of American Dollars, as the best offensive coordinator candidate the team could have hoped for just shockingly hit the open market.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has already said as much. Shortly after news of Moore’s firing was announced, Rapoport connected him to the Buccaneers and their vacant offensive coordinator position.
Buccaneers Rumors: Kellen Moore expected to be top OC candidate
The #Bucs are expected to have significant interest in Kellen Moore as an OC. https://t.co/TKdytKadRD
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 29, 2023
Dallas needed a scapegoat for how things ended, but making that guy Moore is a rather stunning turn of events. It makes sense in that the Cowboys likely saw all they were going to see out of the coaching group it had.
Dan Quinn’s defense is the strongest part of the team’s DNA, which seems to indicate he’d be safe. McCarthy is a polarizing figure for fans — especially with Sean Payton circling like a shark — but Jones has remained committed to him even at his lowest points of his short tenure.
That leaves Moore, who at one point was seen as a potential successor to McCarthy if things went south. He was getting head coaching consideration a year ago, and was being talked about alongside the Matt LaFleur’s and Mike McDaniels of the league.
Now he’s out of a job and looking for a way to get reinvent himself a bit. Tampa Bay seems to be the perfect place to do that, as the team is hungry for a fresh look on offense and could provide the lowest risk that Moore could take.