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The offseason is in full swing for the Dallas Cowboys and all franchises across the NFL.
Dallas has already made some moves to improve its roster while maintaining some of its top internal free agents, and the Cowboys selected Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith with the 26th pick in the first round of the NFL draft.
Here’s everything you need to know about this Cowboys offseason:
Latest news
— Michael Gallup finally feels like himself, which is good news for the Cowboys
— Why Cowboys’ problem sorting out starter at left guard is ‘great’ for Dallas
— Cowboys rookie RB Deuce Vaughn draws praise, Darren Sproles comp from LaDainian Tomlinson
— Mike McCarthy emphasizing ‘play call purpose’ while meshing new duties with Dak Prescott
— Cowboys plan on signing another kicker at some point. Could Brandon McManus be an option?
Key offseason dates
May 22-23: OTA Offseason Workouts
May 25: OTA Offseason Workouts
May 30: OTA Offseason Workouts
June 1-2: OTA Offseason Workouts
Mandatory Minicamp: June 6-8
June 13-15: OTA Offseason Workouts
NFL draft recap
Cowboys 2023 draft picks
Round 1: No. 26, Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith
Round 2: No. 58 Michigan TE Luke Schoonmaker
Round 3: No. 90 Texas LB DeMarvion Overshown
Round 4: No. 129 San Jose State DE Viliami Fehoko
Round 5: No. 169 (compensatory) North Carolina OL Asim Richards
Round 6: No. 212 (compensatory) Kansas State RB Deuce Vaughn
Round 7: No. 244 South Carolina WR Jalen Brooks
Top draft stories
What Mazi Smith selection means for Cowboys, Micah Parsons
FRISCO — The Cowboys were on the clock with a scenario that seemed unlikely when the draft began.
Edge Rusher Nolan Smith. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. Tight end Michael Mayer. All were available at No. 26. It was an embarrassment of unexpected riches. And how did the Cowboys respond?
By taking the player they hoped would be there when the day began.
Mazi Smith got this draft started for Dallas. The Michigan defensive tackle will be asked to solidify the interior of the defensive line and help free the team’s impressive array of edge rushers to wreak even more havoc.
Read more from The Dallas Morning News’ David Moore.
Drafting DeMarvion Overshown was personal — to Jerry Jones’ grandkids
FRISCO — At some point the Jones family is going to have a changing of the guard. As it stands, Jerry Jones is the team owner and general manager and Stephen Jones is the executive vice president.
The grandkids will take over the family business.
Some day.
Friday night, the grandkids took over the NFL draft.
The Cowboys selected Texas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown in the third round. It was a selection that was personal to the Cowboys’ grandkids.
Read more from The News’ Calvin Watkins.
Can Luke Schoonmaker help Cowboys correct Day 2 draft track record?
FRISCO — Even if it’s still too soon to joke about passing up T.J. Watt to take Taco Charlton, the Ann Arbor Cowboys doubled down by taking not just one but two Michigan players in the first two rounds of this week’s draft. Talk about trending. If things don’t work out for Mike McCarthy this fall, give me Jim Harbaugh in the Nassau.
Maybe Mazi Smith and Luke Schoonmaker will make you forget Taco was also a Wolverine. History says Mazi, a human roadblock, stands a good chance.
Schoonmaker, on the other hand, looks eerily similar to the usual Cowboys second-rounder.
Plenty of talent.
Lots of hurts.
Read more from The News’ Kevin Sherrington.
No matter the grades, Cowboys’ use of capital makes draft an unqualified success
FRISCO - Now that the draft is done, an avalanche of grades will follow.
This will lead to the inevitable backlash against instant analysis, with some trotting out the bromide that you must wait at least three years to accurately judge a draft class.
The rebuttal: not this time. What the Cowboys did with the capital they had in this draft makes it an unqualified success.
Dallas added a Pro Bowl cornerback and a perennial 1,000-yard receiver with a couple of fifth round picks. A sixth round pick yielded a veteran run stopper. No other team can make that claim.
Read more from The News’ David Moore.
How Cowboys scout Chris Vaughn balanced fatherhood, work while drafting son Deuce
FRISCO — Chris Vaughn is the Cowboys’ assistant director of college scouting. His job over these last three days is to talk about the positives and negatives of prospective draft picks from the Cowboys draft room.
But late Saturday afternoon, Vaughn had to be a dad.
Deuce Vaughn, one of those prospective draft picks, was at home in Austin upset. It was the sixth round and Vaughn, a talented running back from Kansas State, hadn’t been drafted. All the hard work. Overcoming his 5-5 frame. The excellent stats weren’t meaning anything.
Sure Deuce was going to find a job somewhere in the NFL. In the moment it didn’t look like it. Chris Vaughn left the draft room and walked into the hallway.
“His voice is cracking,” Chris Vaughn said. “It’s almost like ‘I might not get drafted.’ It’s the first time I really heard him, in his voice, the way he talked, that ‘my height might have caught up to me.’”
So Chris Vaughn took the personnel hat off and found his dad hat. He calmed his son down. He reassured him everything will work out.
Then Chris Vaughn went back to work. And a special moment occurred.
Read more from The News’ Calvin Watkins.
Free agents
A new season brings contract negotiations. That means a new roster. Dallas has 22 free agents for 2023.
Check out this list of Cowboys players who will be on the market come mid-March.
Notable unrestricted free agents
TE Dalton Schultz: Agreed to one-year deal worth up to $9 million with Houston on Monday.
LB Leighton Vander Esch: Agreed to two-year, $11 million deal with Dallas on March 14.
QB Cooper Rush: Agreed to two-year, $6 million deal with Dallas on March 17.
K Brett Maher
OG/C Connor McGovern: Agreed to three-year, $23 million contract with Bills on March 13.
WR Noah Brown: Agreed to one-year deal with Houston on March 14.
RB Tony Pollard: Signed a franchise tag with Dallas on Thursday.
Read more about the Cowboys’ notable free agents here.
Other unrestricted free agents
OLB Anthony Barr
LT Jason Peters
CB C.J. Goodwin: Signed a one-year deal with Dallas on March 16.
DT Johnathan Hankins: Hankins agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Cowboys.
LS Jake McQuaide: Signed with Detroit, terms not disclosed.
DE Carlos Watkins: Signed a one-year deal with Arizona.
LS Matt Overton: Signed with the Los Angeles Chargers, terms not disclosed.
LB Luke Gifford: Signed two-year, $5 million deal with Tennessee on March 14.
CB Anthony Brown
DE Dante Fowler Jr.: Signed a one-year deal with Dallas on Tuesday.
WR T.Y. Hilton
S Donovan Wilson: Agreed to three-year deal worth up to $24 million with Dallas on Tuesday.
DE Takk McKinley Signed 1-year deal with Dallas on Wednesday.
Restricted free agents
T Terence Steele: Dallas placed second-round tender.
RB Rico Dowdle: Signed deal with Dallas, terms not disclosed.
Offseason additions
Acquired via trade
CB Stephon Gilmore: Dallas sent a 2023 fifth-round pick to Indianapolis for Gilmore.
WR Brandin Cooks: Dallas sent a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth-rounder to Houston for Cooks.
Signed as free agents
OL Chuma Edoga: Signed a one-year deal with Dallas.
RB Ronald Jones Signed one-year deal with Dallas.
LS Trent Sieg: Signed with Dallas, terms not disclosed.
Coaching staff updates
Kellen Moore’s out, Mike McCarthy to call plays
Kellen Moore’s tenure as the Cowboys offensive coordinator is done.
His successor already is in place.
The club and Moore came to what is described as a mutual decision to part ways, the team announced at nearly 10 p.m. Sunday night after The Dallas Morning News had reported the move. Head coach Mike McCarthy will assume play calling duties in the wake of Moore’s departure.
Dan Quinn returns
Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has pulled his name out for any head coaching vacancies and will remain in his current position.
Quinn was in the same situation last year when several teams inquired about his services but Cowboys’ owner and general manager Jerry Jones convinced him to stay.
This time, it’s more about a comfort level with this franchise, something Quinn has always sought.
Cowboys hire Brian Schottenheimer as OC
One week after Kellen Moore and the Cowboys reached a mutual decision to part ways, the club has announced his replacement.
Brian Schottenheimer will take over as the team’s offensive coordinator. He’s had 22 years of NFL experience with 12 of those at the coordinator level.
Six assistant coaches not returning
In addition to Kellen Moore, the Cowboys announced that six other assistant coaches will not be back with the team next season.
The list of coaches not returning in 2023 includes senior defensive assistant George Edwards, running backs coach Skip Peete, assistant head coach Rob Davis, offensive line coach Joe Philbin, assistant defensive line coach Leon Lett, and quality control assistant Kyle Valero.
Peete and Edwards saw their contracts expire after Dallas’ postseason elimination.
Three assistant coaches get promotions
The Cowboys are still in the process of finalizing their coaching staff for the 2023 season, but a person with knowledge of the hiring process said three coaches were promoted on Wednesday.
Scott Tolzien was moved from offensive assistant to quarterbacks coach, Jeff Blasko went from assistant offensive line coach to running backs coach and Cannon Matthews got promoted to assistant defensive backs coach from quality control defense.
After the season, seven assistant coaches left the organization, which included offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and veteran coaches Skip Peete (running back) and Joe Philbin (offensive line), among others.
Of the six recent hires/promotions, only one coach is over 50, offensive line coach Mike Solari, who is 68.
Ezekiel Elliott’s departure
— Farewell to Ezekiel Elliott: Personal reflection from a Dallas Cowboys beat writer
— Ex-Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott deciding between Eagles, Jets and Bengals, per report
— Watch: Breaking down Ezekiel Elliott’s release, what it means for Cowboys moving forward
— Ezekiel Elliott carried Cowboys back into NFL spotlight. Dallas ran him into the ground
— Where Ezekiel Elliott ranks among Cowboys’ all-time running backs
— Ezekiel Elliott highs and lows: A look back at his Dallas Cowboys career
— Dallas Cowboys release running back Ezekiel Elliott
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.