The Dallas Cowboys have been going through a turbulent period after their devastating loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Wild Card Game. After being one of the most dominant teams in the NFL for most of the season, Dallas once again laid an egg during the playoffs and were completely decimated by Jordan Love and the Packers. After a loss like that and an infamously ravenous fanbase, there has been a significant amount of change anticipated in Dallas.
Cowboys Bring in Experienced Coach on Offensive Front
On Monday morning, Dallas announced the hiring of former Cincinnati defensive coordinator Paul Guenther to the run game coordinator position. Although it is fairly unique for a defensive specialist like Guenther to switch from a defensive specialty to the offensive side of the ball, it highlights just how good of a coach Guenther is.
Guenther has been a career disciple of Dallas’ recently hired defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer as he rose through the ranks during his time in Cincinnati. Guenther was a defensive assistant with Cincinnati starting in 2005 but was promoted to linebackers coach under Zimmer from 2012-2013 until he succeeded him as defensive coordinator in 2014. Guenther then left the Queen City in 2017 to become the defensive coordinator with the Oakland Raiders until he was fired in 2020 after a particularly painful stretch of form.
Guenther was then given an opportunity as a defensive assistant under Zimmer in 2021 with the Minnesota Vikings until he was fired along with Zimmer at the end of the year. Guenther has been absent from the NFL since that time but will be making a triumphant return with Zimmer to Dallas this upcoming season.
Even though he is traditionally a defensive coach, Guenther will provide a linebacker-based specialty to a running game that has rapidly declined over the past few seasons. A linebacker-based specialty means that there will be a heavy emphasis on the offensive line in Dallas over the upcoming seasons to perfect combo blocks where two offensive linemen are responsible for both a defensive lineman as well as getting up to the next level and clearing a linebacker. Perfecting the technique of combo blocks will generate big plays for the offense as it attacks the faster players on the defensive front.
Guenther has officially been tasked with figuring out how to correct the offensive line and running game in Dallas after several years of dramatic decline. After Ezekiel Elliot and Tony Pollard essentially aged out of the elite running back club, the team hasn’t been able to figure out how to return to form on the offense and Guenther will be responsible for figuring out a quick solution.
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