The Dallas Cowboys are speeding up their coaching staff hirings on the offensive side of the ball after hiring offensive coordinator Klayton Adams on Friday, a move that could shake up the running game significantly with an injection of gap schemes, mostly counter.
Per Clarence Hill of All City DLLS, the Cowboys will interview Tashard Choice for their running back coaching vacancy. Most recently, the former Cowboys' fourth-round pick has been coaching running backs for the Texas Longhorns at the collegiate level.
Choice would be a familiar face to Cowboys fans, playing between 2008-2011 and later working as a coaching intern in 2016 on Jason Garrett's staff.
Under Choice, running back Bijan Robinson had his best year in 2022 and later Jonathon Brooks stole the show in 2023. But even without the superstars, Choice's position group had plenty of success last season as Texas reached the college football semifinals.
A to Z Sports' Texas Longhorns expert Brian Davis broke down Choice's impact on the Longhorns in a recent article:
Choice’s room had a tremendous challenge this past season, losing CJ Baxter and Christian Clark due to injuries during preseason practice. But the Longhorns running backs rallied and still had a productive season as a position room.
Texas finished 10th in the SEC this season in rushing yards per game (158.8). Jaydon Blue, Quintrevion Wisner and Jerrick Gibson all pulled together and all had various highlight moments.
Blue overcame fumble problems midseason and had sizzling returns in the College Football Playoffs. Blue had 146 yards rushing and two touchdowns against Clemson. Wisner finished with a team-high 1,064 yards and five touchdowns.
That’s a huge testament to Choice and his bulldog coaching style. Choice and coach Steve Sarkisian made Blue carry a football around all day long after, just like in the movie “The Program.”
As good as Choice sounds as RB coach, there's a speedbump ahead. According to Davis, Choice is making $700,000 a year with the Longhorns, a team expected to be in the National Championship conversation next year. If the Cowboys want to steal him away, Jerry Jones will need to pay up.
We'll see how the interviews go.
