The Dallas Cowboys made a commitment to invest in football analytics with the hiring of Mike McCarthy, but their initial foray into the field began with the appointment of Tom Robinson as Data Services Manager in 2010.
Robinson was a graduate of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas and had worked as a data consultant for multinational conglomerate Hitachi before joining the Cowboys. As the Director of Football Research, Robinson was in charge of the team’s burgeoning analytics department, working alongside emerging companies like Pro Football Focus.
However, tensions arose between Robinson and then-head coach Jason Garrett over analytical insights that appeared to contradict Garrett’s preferred slow, methodical, low-scoring style of football. Despite Garrett’s reception to certain analytical studies, the lack of organizational structure and consistency within the department led to negative perceptions of the Cowboys’ analytics department, making it difficult to recruit top talent.
Following the team’s stagnant season in 2022, Robinson was let go, prompting the Cowboys to aggressively seek a new head of their analytics department and seek to expand the department’s capabilities. Despite some bumps along the way, the Cowboys remain committed to leveraging the insights that analytics can provide to improve their on-field performance.
