When training camp begins, one of the Dallas Cowboys’ most reliable players will be Brandon Aubrey.An intriguing topic regarding Dan Bailey was originally raised by one of my friends, Ari Temkin.
He said it might have been one of the worst things that has ever happened to Jason Garrett, given Bailey’s high degree of success and consistency. Essentially, the idea was that Garrett became overly dependent on Bailey because he was so dependable, to the point that there were times when it would have been wiser to go for it on a fourth down rather than snapping to a range goal. Whether Bailey’s dependability harmed anyone or not is a discussion for another time (if you want to have one). One thing Dallas truly missed when Bailey was gone was their dependability.
It has been a minute since Dallas unexpectedly cut Dan Bailey during the final roster cuts prior to the 2018 season; nonetheless, despite experimenting with several replacements who had varied degrees of success, it wasn’t until lately that everything came together as they should have. In about two weeks, the Cowboys will report for training camp, and for the first time in a long time, no one will need to discuss the wind in Oxnard or chart kicks.
For the first time in a long time, Kicker is not a question as he heads into training camp. The Cowboys made the decision to let go of Dan Bailey six years ago. Brandon Aubrey was largely preceded by two different kickers during that period.
The first person given a chance was Brett Maher, who had a very impressive first year, particularly in light of the circumstances. Although he possessed a cannon for a leg and a range that was nearly as far as Steph Curry’s, during his second season with the squad in 2019, everything started to fade.
John Fassel was appointed by Mike McCarthy to oversee the special teams unit when the latter came over. Although Bones has been among the better choices the head coach has made, he has not been without his shortcomings.
The largest was simply clinging to Greg Zuerlein, with whom he had a history with, for too long. Similar to Maher who came before him, Zuerlein was granted a two-year period but ultimately shown to be ineffective.
To be clear, this wasn’t before Fassel gave him his full support, even going so far as to figuratively state, “If I’m wrong, then I’ll be wrong, but I really think I’m going to be right,” drawing comparisons between Zuerlein and Tiger Woods during his problems. Really? This took place.
This brought us to 2022, and training camp was a complete flop for everyone Dallas had on staff, most notably rookie Jonathan Garibay at the time.
With nobody able to secure the position in Oxnard after the disaster that was Zuerlein, the Cowboys looked back to Maher of all people, and the jokes practically wrote themselves. In particular, this author had a great deal to say about it.
Maher had an amazing season for the Cowboys, and it looked like we were about to witness the most incredible narrative ever. But, during the team’s postseason victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round, Maher had an unprecedented breakdown and lost everyone’s confidence.
Given the road he’d been on up to that point, it was terrible and unfortunate, but it was only rational to go on.
This brought us back to last year, and if it’s not clear from reading over 600 words, there were real concerns about this role and the team’s strategy when they got to California in the summer of 2023.
To add to the frustration and doubt, Brandon Aubrey, a former MLS kicker about whom we clearly knew nothing, was the most serious candidate for the position.
In the early going of the season opener against the New York Giants, Aubrey was hired but missed his first-ever professional kick, an extra point. This will be remembered as highly ironic because he proceeded to record the most field goals made to begin a career—35—during that stretch.
Last season, Brandon Aubrey was selected to the First Team All-Pro, and it seems like a long time ago. How could he have been otherwise? From a stability perspective, this is (in our opinion) peak Dan Bailey; this is neither Brett Maher in 2019 nor Greg Zuerlein at any stage.
Given the considerable uncertainty surrounding the rule change, the only question anyone now has about the Cowboys kicker is whether or not they will actually be used on the new kickoff; nonetheless, that situation and question are unrelated to Aubrey’s ability to score points. Now is the right time, good and proper. We succeeded.
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