FRISCO, Texas – In 2018 the Dallas Cowboys offensive line was banged up with injuries without a consistent lineup throughout the season to forge consistency. Even with the long list of injuries, the o-line battled and Ezekiel Elliott finished the season with the rushing title. Zeke’s accomplishment is largely due to the big men winning the line of scrimmage and opening up running lanes for him. A driving force behind the offensive line’s success- Marc Colombo and Hudson Houck.
Midway through he 2018 season, Dallas fired o-line coach Paul Alexander in his first year with the team after Dak Prescott was sacked 23 times due to poor pass protection. The team bumped up Marc Colombo from Assistant Offensive Line coach to fill the role as the man in charge of the line and brought in Hudson Houck as a Senior Assistant. Colombo had been with the Cowboys as an assistant o-line coach since 2016, following a 10-year career as a player (six with Dallas). Houck was a former o-line coach who had two separate stints with the Silver and Blue from 1993-2001 and 2008-2011.
Colombo and Houck had the difficult task of rotating players throughout the line as injuries occurred and bringing in new ones. Connor Williams and Adam Redmond moved around and the club brought in Xavier Su’a-Filo during the season to help solidify the interior of the line, and he had a big impact at left guard blocking on pass plays, and opening up holes on run plays for Zeke to get through and holding on to defenders for a few extra seconds when Elliott would break for a long run. Williams and Su’a-Filo will compete for the starting left guard position in 2019.
At the 10th annual Emmitt Smith Celebrity Invitational Gala, I spoke with former Cowboys’ guard, Cory Procter, on how the line performed through the plague of injuries and the influence of Marc Colombo, “ I know the offensive line will be good because Marc Colombo is a personal friend of mine. We played together and I know his attitude. He made me want to fight more. I love that guy for that specific reason and he brings that not just to people around him, but also to the offensive line room. Marc will have that influence over Connor McGovern. Injuries aside, typically the guys that stay healthy can go further in the playoffs and that is awesome. But it also gives an opportunity to guys who are coming up. I had those opportunities when guys got hurt and was able to start a lot of games. I have no doubt that Colombo will bring these guys up in a nasty, fight fashion. It will be sick and these guys will be huge playmakers. They will be fighters and that is what we need. “
