Cowboys’ Robert Prince named best WR coach in NFL in 2nd season with team

Congratulations to Robert Prince!

The Dallas Cowboys did not make the major coaching shake ups that some expected after the way their season ended in the Wild Card playoff round, but have seen the defensive side of the ball affected in a trickle down effect from defensive coordinator Dan Quinn leaving to be head coach of the Washington Commanders. On offense, the brain trust of Mike McCarthy as both head coach and play-caller alongside OC Brian Schottenheimer remains in place, as well as WR coach Robert Prince entering his third year with the team. We bring up Prince because he just won the NFL’s Darryl Drake Memorial award for the best coach at this position in the league last year.

The Cowboys have a lot of needs on offense going into this week’s draft, and are hoping the coaching and scheme continuity on this side of the ball can help break in potential new starters at left tackle, center, and running back quickly. Wide receiver remains a secondary need, but is also a position on the depth chart that best shows the optimism Dallas has for young players taking the next step – a theme hit on by the front office throughout Tuesday’s pre-draft press conference. CeeDee Lamb is still the undisputed top dog in the Cowboys’ receiver room, with veteran Brandin Cooks looking to be a more consistent number two behind him, but the likes of Jalen Tolbert and Jalen Brooks, among others, gives coach Prince a lot of potential to work with.

The receiver position has been somewhat in a state of flux for the Cowboys over McCarthy’s entire tenure, which is less than ideal for a coach brought in to help QB Dak Prescott take the next step. Now in a contract year, McCarthy deserves a stable situation at WR going into the second year of calling his own plays, and has at least the makings of it along with a steady and experienced coach in that room. Prince came to the Cowboys in 2022 from the Houston Texans, making Dallas his sixth NFL stop in a journey that began with the Atlanta Falcons in 2004. Prince has also coached at the college level at Boise State and Colorado.

The Cowboys could trust Prince’s mentorship along with Lamb and Cooks to focus on other needs in the draft, or really double down on making the position group a surplus of strength by giving the best WR coach in the league another weapon like Xavier Worthy or Xavier Legette, and it won’t be long at all now until we know the direction this all-important Cowboys draft goes. For now, in an offseason where just about every aspect of the Cowboys organization from players, coaches, and team culture has been under heavy scrutiny, it is nice to see one of their position coaches recognized on this level.