DALLAS — Marc Colombo took over for released offensive line coach Paul Alexander during a bye week of a 3-4 season without All-Pro center Travis Frederick. Instead of floundering due to the bad hand delivered, the former Dallas Cowboys right tackle flourished in the role and was part of the turnaround that led the Cowboys to a 10-6 record and a NFC East title.
That was in the middle of a season in a competitive division race with Philadelphia and Washington. Imagine what Colombo can do now with a full offseason to work with the offensive line.
"I thought he embraced it all," said coach Jason Garrett. "I thought he instilled confidence in the guys, toughness in the guys. I think in a lot of ways they reflect his personality and how he played, and we think that's a really good thing. So, again, he had to do that in the middle of the year, kind of hit the ground running, handled it well, and he will only get better and better as he goes through a full offseason in his role and we can kind of build it from ground zero."
Colombo gets plenty of benefits in his first full season as offensive line coach. Frederick is back from his Guillain-Barré syndrome and shoulder surgery. Left guard Connor Williams is no longer a rookie and gets to undergo a full offseason with a NFL strength and conditioning regimen, which will only help him play along the interior. Finally, the Cowboys replenished their reinforcements with third-round pick Connor McGovern from Penn State.
What makes Colombo a good coach on the Dallas staff is his ability to relate to his players, especially considering he played for the organization from 2005-10 and Garrett was the offensive coordinator from 2007-10.
"Marc brings a lot of intensity, and he also brings a little bit of youth," Frederick said. "He can connect well with the guys and I think, not that you ever have our group to play hard, but guys want to play for him because you know he's been through it. He's been through the grind. He's seen it. And he's seen it recently."
Now, the grind is getting the Cowboys offensive line ready to go for a 2019 season where the club seeks to break into the NFL's final four for the first time since 1996. However, this is a herculean task unto itself given the Cowboys have not put together consecutive playoff appearances since 2006-07. Furthermore, in the NFC East, the Eagles have been the only team to post consecutive playoff appearances since 2009, having done it twice (2009-10, 2017-18).
If Dallas is to qualify for the playoffs again, they will need to protect quarterback Dak Prescott, who sustained 56 sacks, the second-most in the league. Only the Houston Texans' Deshaun Watson took more with 62. Watson's excuse is he plays behind one of the NFL's worst offensive lines. The Cowboys can't allow that association to be placed on their offensive line with Prescott's sack total so high.
Colombo's ability to relate to his veteran group should help clarify protecting Prescott as one of the team's prime objectives.
Said Frederick: "He knows that he has a veteran group and he doesn't want to push too hard on it, but he knows there are certain things that need to be done. And he knows the standard that we've set in the room and strives every day to uphold that standard as a coach."
After retiring in August 2012 as a Cowboy, Colombo was an analyst on the team's radio network until 2014 when he joined the Cowboys as a scout. In 2015, Colombo took over as offensive line assistant with the departure of position coach Bill Callahan and the promotion of Frank Pollack. When Pollack left in 2018, the club turned to Alexander before bringing in Colombo for the top offensive line coach job during the bye.
"I thought he did a good job helping us re-establish the identity that we wanted to play with, the identity that we played with around here for a long, long time," Garrett said.
Every season is the laying of a foundation. Colombo seeks to, not only re-establish that identity in 2019, but help the unit dig deeper and find even more ways to play up to the reputation that the Great Wall of Dallas embodies.
Do you think the Cowboys' offensive line will have more success with a full season of Marc Colombo's tutelage? Share your thoughts with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.
