IRVING – Throughout their history, the Cowboys have had some top fullbacks in Ring of Honor member Don Perkins, Walt Garrison, Robert Newhouse and Daryl Johnston.
But those days are over.
By selecting tight end Anthony Fasano in the second round of Saturday's draft, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said the Cowboys have shifted their offensive philosophy to a two-tight end, one-back set.
The philosophy will continue whenever coach Bill Parcells decides to walk away, as will the 3-4 defensive scheme, according to Jones.
The phasing out actually began last year, when Parcells kept only one fullback on the roster in Lousaka Polite, preferring to use tight ends Jason Witten, Dan Campbell and Brett Pierce (before he was injured) or Sean Ryan on game days.
"You won't see us be in the fullback business much, if at all," Jones said.
Parcells has had successful fullbacks in Maurice Carthon with the New York Giants and Sam Gash in New England. But during his time with the New York Jets and his first year in Dallas, Parcells used a hybrid-running back in Richie Anderson to handle the fullback spot.
With Witten, Fasano, who was the 53rd overall pick, and free-agent pickup Ryan Hannam, Jones believes the Cowboys have a foundation set for an unpredictable offense.
Because the Cowboys will use two tight ends most of the time, Jones believes the offense can be more unpredictable on first, second or third down.
"This juices up our offense to have these two tight ends and these two wideouts [Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn]," Jones said. "We can put Fasano on the same side as TO and Witten on the same side as Terry Glenn."
The added plus in selecting Fasano is his familiarity with the Cowboys offense because he ran a similar scheme last year at Notre Dame under Parcells disciple Charlie Weis.
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| AP Anthony Fasano caught 47 passes for Notre Dame last fall. |
In one year under Weis, Fasano caught 47 passes, the second-most by a tight end in school history, for 576 yards and two touchdowns. He will graduate in May with a marketing degree.
"Coach Weis is a lot like Coach Parcells," said Fasano, a New Jersey native, like Parcells. "He always mentioned how Coach Parcells mentored him as a younger coach, and he always referred to him. Going through the draft process, Coach Weis mentioned how he thought Dallas would be a good fit."
Parcells' history with tight ends has been well documented. He helped Mark Bavaro, a Notre Dame alum, become a Pro Bowler. Ben Coates became a Pro Bowler in New England. In three years with the Cowboys, Witten has made the Pro Bowl twice and caught 188 passes for 2,084 yards and 13 touchdowns.
"If you're on the outside looking at it, taking another tight end might look weird," Fasano said. "But with the philosophy they're trying to go to with two tight ends, I think it'll be a good fit. I can't think of a better situation to walk into."
E-mail tarcher@dallasnews.com
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TIGHT ENDS
Bill Parcells has made no secret about his love for tight ends. A look at the notable tight ends to play for Parcells in each of his coaching stops:
Mark Bavaro, N.Y. Giants: One of the toughest to play the game; was named to two Pro Bowls.
Ben Coates, New England: In 1994, caught 94 passes for 1,174 yards and seven touchdowns; a five-time Pro Bowler.
Anthony Becht, N.Y. Jets: One of four first-round picks in 2000 (No. 27 overall), but never fulfilled expectations. Now with Tampa Bay.
Jason Witten, Dallas: A third-round pick in 2003, he has been named to the Pro Bowl the last two years. Caught 87 passes in '04 to set a team mark for tight ends.
