Dak Prescott has been the cornerstone of the Cowboys' offense for the last 10 seasons. However, his former head coach, Jason Garrett, has admitted that he initially had his doubts about whether the star quarterback could handle the transition to the NFL.

Speaking to reporters, Garrett admitted, "I've often said this that I felt like I got the evaluation on Dak Prescott wrong because I felt like he was a quarterback who could be the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys for 15 years. My biggest thing was I thought his transition was going to take longer because he was a gun quarterback in college.”

Dak Prescott was initially drafted as a fourth-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys from Mississippi State as a backup to Tony Romo. Romo injured his back during pre-season, and Prescott took over the reins. This was when Garrett's problem emerged.

During his college football years, Prescott played as a gun quarterback while the Cowboys were going to play the center. Prescott would have to play the center. And he delivered.

The rookie-led offense ended the season with a 13-3 record, with Prescott marking 3,667 yards and 23 touchdowns. Prescott nearly managed to break his final college season record of 3,793 yards and 29 touchdowns. The Cowboys entered the playoffs, and despite losing against the Packers, the QB had a 302-yard, 3-touchdown performance.

Nearly a decade later, Prescott is managing to channel that same energy, but there's one issue for the Cowboys.

A defense that is holding the Cowboys back

While Dak Prescott is still posting elite-level numbers as their quarterback, the defense remains a concern for them. 

In the 2025 season, the team conceded a total of 511 points, the worst in franchise history. They also conceded a league-high of 60 touchdowns. While much of this can be attributed to their defensive coordinator, Matt Eberflus, things could be looking up for them in the upcoming season with their new defensive coordinator, Christian Parker. 

The Cowboys’ owner, Jerry Jones, has admitted that he played a minimal role in hiring Parker and they went beyond their usual radius in looking for Eberflus’ replacement. 

At 32, Parker is the youngest defensive coordinator in Cowboys history. With Parker earlier working under Vic Fangio, he could be bringing a much-needed overhaul to the Cowboys' defense next season. 

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Written by

Shyam Hari

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar