The Cowboys are hitting five assistant coaches, to date

The best argument for Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is that he presided over consecutive 12-win seasons. Presumably this argument also applies to the various members of the coaching staff who now find themselves out of work.

In addition to senior defensive assistant George Edwards and running backs coach Skip Beattie, the The cowboys have parted ways With offensive line coach Joe Philbin, assistant defensive line coach Leon Lett, and assistant coach Rob Davis, according to Clarence E. Hill Jr. Fort Worth Star Telegram.

As PFT noted earlier in the week, all but four members of the coaching staff have expired contracts. But in practice, it is still difficult not to offer them new contracts.

And it makes me wonder if something else is going on behind the scenes. Something like owner Jerry Jones discreetly lining up the replacement head coach before firing the head coach, because Jones would only fire the coach if he got the replacement Jones wanted.

In unrelated (or unrelated) developments, the nomination of Sean Payton to the four teams that have expressed interest in his services appears to have foundered on something.