Why the Cowboys fired Mike Nolan, challenges next defensive coordinator faces

 So much of football is about zooming in on specific strengths and weaknesses and isolating them to diagnose a problem. Were this golf or even baseball, where things do often work in isolation, we would have much more success. But when we examine the 2020 Cowboys defense to seek specific reasons why the team suffered and the defense was often to blame, we come back with an overview that lacks real specifics. They were just really bad. Well, OK. But where were they weakest? Who was bad?

https://theathletic.com/2315603/2021/01/11/dallas-cowboys-mike-nolan-coordinator-hire/

Cowboys defense horrific in finale. How much needs to change? Nolan Report

 Most people were starting to feel slightly better about the Cowboys defense heading into Week 17 after they stomped Jalen Hurts and the Eagles in the home finale. The takeaways flowed like a sweet river of forgiveness for all of the blown coverages and gap fits in a mess of a season.

https://theathletic.com/2305847/2021/01/06/dallas-cowboys-defense-nolan-draft-improve/

Randy Gregory has been dominant. What does it mean for Cowboys' DL? Nolan Report

 The skies were ominous right out of the gate for the Cowboys defense on Sunday. Before Dallas could do much of anything, they were down 14-3 after Philadelphia went touchdown-touchdown to open the contest. Then, somehow, they limited the Eagles to a field goal the rest of the game. Surely this has something to do with the Eagles’ game-situation decisions to go for it a lot, and those risks and gambles going badly very fast.

https://theathletic.com/2292641/2020/12/30/cowboys-randy-gregory-nfl-football-breakout/

Have Cowboys figured out how to build a defense that complements their offense?

 https://theathletic.com/1791472/2020/05/04/have-cowboys-figured-out-how-to-build-a-defense-that-complements-their-offense/

The Cowboys continue to assemble a defense. What clues are they leaving us?

https://theathletic.com/1701926/2020/03/26/the-cowboys-continue-to-assemble-a-defense-what-clues-are-they-leaving-us/

Looking ahead to Mike Nolan’s Cowboys tenure and closing the book on the Richard Report

 Posted: Jan. 21, 2020

The Athletic post: https://theathletic.com/1550427/2020/01/21/looking-ahead-to-mike-nolan-and-closing-the-book-on-the-richard-report/

It has certainly been a busy couple of weeks, and in all of the excitement and drama of the Cowboys “not firing” Jason Garrett and hiring Mike McCarthy — along with tentacles of both storylines growing all over the place — we never had a chance to have a good discussion about the defense.

This will hopefully suffice for now, as we take on the cause today with a look ahead and then close the book on what happened in 2019."