2015 SCHEDULE

SIDELINES HISTORY PLAYOFF RECORDS 2014 SEASON PLAYERS
JOE
RECORDS
BAKER
JOE BAKER
Safeties
Princeton
NFL: 20th Year • Cowboys: 4th Year
20
The Dallas Cowboys announced Joe Baker as
assistant secondary coach on February 13, 2012.
Baker arrived in Dallas after spending three seasons
(2009-11) as an assistant with the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers. He has 19 years of NFL coaching experience
and three years at the collegiate level.
Baker’s third season assisting with the Dallas
secondary saw more emphasis working with the
safeties. The unit was led once more by Barry
Church, who for the second consecutive season had
a team-high 110 tackles to become the first Dallas
defender to lead the defense in tackles in back-toback
years since Bradie James (2005-10). The 2014
season also saw the rise of second-year safety J.J.
Wilcox, who finished fourth on the team with 89 tackles
and three interceptions - second on the team.
Amongst the Cowboys cornerbacks, Brandon Carr
tallied 58 stops and broke up 12 passes to rank second.
Following an injury early in the season to Morris
Claiborne (knee) that limited him to only four games
on the season, Orlando Scandrick took a hold of the
second starting position opposite Carr to log 54
tackles, 11 pass breakups (third on the team) and
two interceptions (tied for third). Claiborne’s injury
also opened the door for veteran Sterling Moore as
a contributor who led the defense with 14 pass
breakups and added 49 tackles. Rookie Tyler
Patmon came on to garner valuable pro experience
while adding six tackles and an interception that he
returned for his first career touchdown.
Baker again worked closely with secondary
coach Jerome Henderson in 2013 as the defense
made the switch back to the 4-3 scheme. The starting
defensive backfield saw the return of Church,
who missed the majority of 2012 with an Achilles
tear, as the former rookie free agent safety started
all 16 games for the first time in his career and led
the defense with a career-best 147 tackles. The season
started with third round draft pick Wilcox starting
at strong safety (five games) before rookie free
agent Jeff Heath took over (nine). In his second year
in Dallas, Carr was fourth on the team with 74 tackles
and second with three interceptions. Claiborne
struggled in his second pro season, tallying 31 tackles
(14th) as Scandrick stepped in to start 15 games
and finish with 70 tackles - a career-high.
In his first season with the Cowboys, Baker
helped integrate two new starting corners in first
round draft choice Claiborne and veteran free agent
Brandon Carr. Carr led the team in interceptions with
three - returning one for a touchdown - while
Claiborne picked off one pass and had a fumble
returned for a touchdown.
In 2009 Baker was the defensive backs coach in
Tampa Bay, and from 2010-11, he coached
Buccaneers linebackers. Baker’s 2009 defensive backfield
helped Tampa Bay finish 10th in the league in pass
defense as his unit accounted for 15 of the team’s 19
interceptions. Safety Tanard Jackson and cornerback
Aqib Talib tied for the team lead with five interceptions.
Prior to landing with the Buccaneers, Baker
spent two seasons (2007-08) with the Denver
Broncos, first as the club’s linebackers coach and
then as an offensive assistant. In his first season with
Denver, Baker worked with a linebacking corps that
was highlighted by D.J. Williams, who was making
the transition to middle linebacker. Under Baker’s
tutelage, Williams finished the season second in the
NFL with an AFC-best 141 tackles. Baker crossed
over to the offensive side in 2008 as an offensive
assistant and helped the unit finish second in the
league in total offense (395.8 yards-per-game).
Baker was with the St. Louis Rams in 2006
(defensive quality control/linebackers) where he
helped guide St. Louis to 32 takeaways - seventh in
the league - with a league-best nine red zone takeaways.
Baker spent 2005 with the Green Bay
Packers (secondary/safeties) and worked with a
defensive backfield that led the league in pass
defense, allowing 165.7 yards-per-game - the club’s
lowest total in 27 seasons.
Baker spent five seasons (2000-04) coaching
various defensive positions with the New Orleans
Saints. In his time with the club, New Orleans was
fifth in the league in takeaways (163) over five seasons.
He started with the Saints as an assistant
defensive backfield/assistant special teams coach
(2000-01), then was the team’s secondary assistant
(2002) and finally the secondary coach (2003-04).
Baker made his NFL coaching debut in 1995 as
the assistant special teams coach for the
Jacksonville Jaguars, a position he held through the
1998 season. He first landed with the Jaguars in
1994 as the club’s manager of football operations
leading into its inaugural season.
In 1999 Baker returned to coach college ball at
the University of Wisconsin as the school’s outside
linebackers/special teams coach. He coached running
backs and wide receivers at Samford in 1993
after spending one season as the player personnel
coordinator for the Birmingham Fire of the World
League of American Football. Baker got his start
coaching as a graduate assistant/defensive backs at
East Stroudsburg University in 1991.
Baker played wide receiver four years (1987-
1990) at Princeton University where he caught passes
from Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett for two
years (1987-88). He was part of Princeton’s 1989
Ivy League co-championship squad then earned his
degree in history in 1991.
Baker lives in Southlake with his wife, Jill, and
two children - Mia and Joey.
Joe Baker – Born June 29, 1969, Glen Ridge, N.J. Wide receiver Princeton 1987-1990. No pro playing
experience. College coach: East Stroudsburg 1991, Samford 1993, Wisconsin 1999. Pro coach:
Birmingham Fire (WFL) 1992, Jacksonville Jaguars 1995-98, New Orleans Saints 2000-04, Green Bay
Packers 2005, St. Louis Rams 2006, Denver Broncos 2007-08, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2009-11, Dallas
Cowboys 2012-14.