The Dallas Cowboys have gone through a number of changes this offseason and some things are still left unsettled as the team heads into the NFL combine, as the question of whether head coach Jason Garrett will call the plays on offense has yet to be answered.
The coach offered no answers on Wednesday, saying that the final decision on who will call plays is up to him, but that he hasn't decided on the answer yet. On Thursday at a news conference introducing the Dallas Cowboys coaches for the 2013 season, offensive line coach Bill Callahan reiterated the same ideas, saying that the process of calling plays won't be unsettled.
"I checked my ego at the door a long time ago," said Callahan. "It doesn't matter who calls the plays. We know what the play is going to be so there's no guessers, no surprises and I think the players can tell you that as well. If you're a good football team and you have an identity of what you're doing, they can tell you the play that's going to be called and featured in that particular down and distance, there's no mystery."
Callahan has past experience calling plays, including when he was head coach at the University of Nebraska and when he was with the Oakland Raiders in the NFL. Garret previously said after the 2012 season ended that expected things to remain the same when it came to play calling on offense.
Owner Jerry Jones has been spearheading the changes this offseason, including firing defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who he replaced with Monte Kiffin. Jones previously said that he wanted to reshape the offense and that he would make people uncomfortable during the offseason at Valley Ranch, something that Callahan agrees with.
Jones has also brought in Derek Dooley to work as wide receivers coach after Tennessee fired him. Dez Bryant had a breakout season, but the depth behind him was weak with Miles Austin having a down year. The Cowboys finished the season with two straight losses after winning five of their past six games.
The coach said he hasn't spoken to Jones about playcalling yet, but added "I would be very happy to speak with him."
Dallas had a high-powered offense, but only through the air. Tony Romo had the team ranked seventh in passing after throwing for 4,903 yards, but the running game was awful, ranking 31st in the NFL after dealing with a number of injuries.
Garret didn't give specifics when asked by reporters about the play calling protocol.
"I got the upmost confidence in Coach Garrett and what he believes and how he wants to go about the process of going through playcalling, whatever it may be," Callahan said. "So be it. My job and my function as an assistant is to serve the head coach and I'm going to do that to the best of my ability every day I come to work you put your best foot forward and compete."
Callahan is known for working in the West coast offense, which he used with the Raiders when Rich Gannon won MVP, while the Cowboys ran a timing-based offensive scheme last year.
"Again, I've partaken in play calling during the games here," Callahan said. "I've done it at several places. It's a group effort whether it's collecting thoughts on the sidelines between series as to what plays we'd like to run and getting those ideas from the staff, whether it's doing it while we are online during the course of a series, whether it's on the sidelines and somebody's the primary caller, it really doesn't matter because I just hearken back to the point I made about preparation of the game plan. It's a group effort."
