Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

Report: New York Giants Shot Down Dallas Cowboys’ Attempt to Win Assistant

Originally posted on Gridiron Heroics
By Christian Alamodin | Last updated 2/14/24

The Dallas Cowboys understand that a strong defense is vital to securing any Super Bowl run. Their disappointing playoff exits over the past couple of years emphasize the importance of stopping your opponents from scoring.

It was due to this that the team tried to poach one of the NFL’s top defensive line coaches. However, the team was in no interest in strengthening a division rival.

New York Giants Deny Dallas Cowboys’ Andre Patterson interview attempt

Adam Schefter reported that the Dallas Cowboys approached their NFC East rivals to convince their defensive line coach to work for them. The Giants probably laughed before shutting the door on them:

And, the Giants now have denied the Cowboys’ request for permission to meet with their defensive line coach Andre Patterson, who was the defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator in Minnesota under Mike Zimmer. https://t.co/egLid6lFlE

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 13, 2024

It may be surprising for some fans to see the Dallas Cowboys moving to acquire a coach of a defensive line that produced less sacks (34) than them (46) during the 2023 regular season. However, the Giants had one of the best QB Hurry percentages in the league at 8.8% while Dallas only had 5.5%. They also had more QB pressures at 133 compared to the Cowboys’ 127.

Andrew Gould of The Spun also provided Patterson’s pedigree as a pass rushing guru:

Patterson has more than four decades of coaching experience dating back to working as a graduate assistant at Montana in 1982. He was a defensive line coach for Weber State, Cornell, and Washington State and head coach at Cal Poly before joining the New England Patriots in 1997.

The Dallas Cowboys were hoping that their defensive shortcomings in the playoffs will be addressed by the Mike Zimmer hiring, but that isn’t the only option waiting for them. If Mike McCarthy doesn’t perform to the expected standards, Bill Belichick will likely take his spot in 2024.

He hoped that getting Patterson would help avoid such a fate. But now, he has to make do with strengthening his team’s defense somewhere else.

This article first appeared on Gridiron Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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