Hiring Paul Alexander is one of the worst personnel moves Jason Garrett has made as the Dallas Cowboys' coach.
He corrected it Monday by firing Alexander.
Offensive line assistant Marc Colombo will replace Alexander and former Cowboys' offensive line coach Hudson Houck will serve as an adviser.
Now, Garrett must pray it's not too late to get the Cowboys' offensive line playing at a high level and salvage the season.
"While approaching the midpoint of the season, and going through an overall evaluation of our entire operation during the bye week, we felt that this move would serve the best interests of our team moving forward," Garrett said in a statement.
"We have great respect and admiration for Paul and what he has accomplished in a very successful career in the NFL.
"These are not easy decisions to make at any time of the year, but we will move ahead with the utmost confidence in what Marc Colombo and Hudson Houck will bring to our team in their new roles."
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What's missing from Garrett’s bland statement is why. As in why did Alexander fail?
The line, which was supposed to be fortified by the addition of second-round draft pick Connor Williams, a first-round talent, has struggled much of this season.
Some of it can be blamed by center Travis Frederick being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome in training camp.
That's bad luck. Joe Looney has replaced him, and done a solid job.
Feel free to attribute the rest of the line's struggles to Alexander, who never should've been hired in the first place.
Seriously.
The Cowboys had one of the NFL's best lines - Frederick, left tackle Tyron Smith and right guard Zack Martin are perennial Pro Bowl players - and billionaire owner and there's no cap on what Jerry Jones can pay his coaches.
Any number of coaches would've been salivating to coach this collection of offensive line talent. Instead, Garrett hired a nondescript dude who spent more than 20 seasons with Cincinnati and never distinguished himself as one of the game's upper-echelon coaches.
The issue in Dallas is that the technique Alexander espouses doesn't fit the team's talent. Garrett, always the smartest man in the room, should've known better.
It's a fixable offense that he didn't. After all, this is supposed to be the strength of the team - one of the NFL's highest-paid units full of premium draft choices.
Instead, he nearly wrecked it.
Frankly, the front office should take as much blame as Garrett for letting the coach whose claim to fame is that he's a talented pianist.
While that's a wonderful skill, it has zero to do with coaching football.
The Cowboys have an offensive line comprised of massive, athletic athletes who do best when they deliver a strong blow to the defensive linemen at the snap, knocking them off-balance and keeping them from engaging the lineman.
Alexander's technique is more suited for lesser athletes because he wants them to absorb the blow from defensive linemen, which puts them in a defensive position from the snap.
Multiple sources said Monday that Alexander's style didn't mesh with the offensive line and that led to the unit underachieving.
Against Washington, a 20-17 loss that left the Cowboys 3-4 entering their bye week, the offensive line was manhandled.
Ezekiel Elliott managed just 33 yards on 15 carries, the second-worst performance of his career, and the offensive line was penalized four times, including three holding calls.
La'El Collins, who has committed a team-high seven penalties, has been among the most disappointing players on the offensive line. The Cowboys say he's struggled most with Alexander's style because he's an aggressive player by nature.
He has one year left on his contract, and he's scheduled to earn $6.5 million. The Cowboys want to give him every opportunity to succeed so they know whether he's part of the future or not.
Firing Alexander will help them figure out the answer.
Questions have swirled around Alexander since Garrett hired him to replace Frank Pollack, whose contract was not renewed after the 2017 season. Pollack was hired in 2013 as Bill Callahan's assistant.
Callahan, regarded as one of the NFL's best line coaches, left after the 2014 season when his contract expired.
The Cowboys are still trying to replace him.
Garrett better hope Colombo is the guy. Or Garrett might be the next coach fired.
