Ezekiel Elliott's Endorsement of Texas RBs Coach Should Go a Long Way in Getting Him to Join Cowboys

Ezekiel Elliott has a ton of pull within the Cowboys' organization, and when you lead the league in rushing in two of your first three years as a starter, that usually affords you power to influence the decision-making processes of your team.

Dallas decided to move in a new direction after 10 years of Jason Garrett at the helm, and announced the hiring of new head coach Mike McCarthy Jan. 7. They're far from finished with making changes though.

McCarthy has stated that he intends to bring on a "superstar" staff with him to guide his new squad to the promised land, and with current running backs coach Gary Brown's contract expiring, that position is one of the many up for grabs. Brown is in contention to retain his position, but so too is Texas Longhorns' running back coach Stan Drayton.

And Elliott strongly supports the latter.

This makes sense considering the history the two have together. Drayton was Elliott's position coach for three seasons during his historic run at Ohio State, and oversaw Zeke's rapid ascent to the top of Buckeye rushing leaderboards, including 3,961 yards and 43 total touchdowns.

"Stan Drayton -- that’s my guy,” Elliott said about Drayton at the 2016 NFL Combine. “He...made me into a great player.”

Drayton was hired as the Bears' running backs coach in 2015, before moving on the Longhorns in 2017. If hired, he would be McCarthy's third new signee, following new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and special teams coach John Fassel.