Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Nolan defends scheme

Mike Nolan cannot be feeling great about his job security these days, but the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator seems to disagree with any talk of his scheme being too complicated for players.

The Cowboys have allowed an abysmal 36.3 points per game this season, which is by far the worst mark in the NFL. Following last week’s 38-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Nolan expressed frustration over the big plays Dallas allowed. He alluded to a 60-yard run and 80-yard pass the Cowboys gave up and said he was bothered by those plays because the defenses Dallas was in were so “simple.”

“We’ve got to eliminate those plays and keep them to a minimum, not only the number of them but when you have a 60-yard run on the last play of the game, and an 80-yard pass against a simple three-deep zone, things like that,” Nolan said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “When they happen to you, you got to find out why they are happening to you. Because those are defenses that everyone in the league has played and, in fact, many high schools play those same defenses. So it’s not like they are too complicated.”

It’s noteworthy that Nolan mentioned the simplicity of those particular defensive formations. One of the biggest knocks against the coach this season has been that his scheme is too complicated. Richard Sherman was highly critical of Nolan recently for that reason.

The bottom line is Nolan is not getting results. Whether his scheme is too complicated or not, the Cowboys are allowing points at a historic pace. That is a recipe for disaster and the main reason they are 2-4 after six games.