Cowboys running backs coach Skip Peete fired

Published Jan. 7, 2013 8:59 p.m. ET

foxsports

In the first move of owner Jerry Jones' pledge to make things "very uncomfortable" at Valley Ranch, the Cowboys fired running backs coach Skip Peete on Monday, according to the team's website and The Dallas Morning News.

Peete had been with the Cowboys for six seasons, and only once in that time did the Cowboys rank higher than No. 16 in the league in rushing. The best year in that span was 2009, when the Cowboys were 7th.

This season, the Cowboys were 31st in the NFL in rushing, ahead of only the Arizona Cardinals. The 1,265 yards the Cowboys rushed for in 2012 were an all-time low for the team in a 16-game season.

In Peete's defense, star running back DeMarco Murray has yet to play a full season because of injuries.

Murray rushed for 897 yards in 13 games, starting seven, in 2011 when he won the starting job in midseason.

Murray started 10 games in 2012, rushing for 663 yards and saw his yards-per-game average dip from 69.0 to 66.3.

Backup running back Felix Jones, a former first-round pick, has also struggled with injuries the last two seasons.

The offensive line also underperformed greatly in 2012, but Jones has promised to make changes after the Cowboys finished 8-8 for the second year in a row.

The Cowboys have not made the playoffs, or finished above .500, since 2009 and head coach Jason Garrett said "anything and everything is up for discussion." In other words, there could be more, and bigger, changes in the near future.

Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire