Jerry Jones keeps Garrett in limbo and the Cowboys in the news
Updated Friday, January 3, 2020
LLANO, Texas — It’s supposed to be a foregone conclusion that Jason Garrett has concluded his 10-year tenure as coach of the Dallas Cowboys. But Jerry Jones is maintaining an element of suspense as long as he can.
Garrett has had multiple meetings this week with the Cowboys’ owner/general manager/frontman. Jones said there would be “big changes” with his football team. But so far he’s been mum on what changes he has in mind.
This is not the Jerry Jones we know, perpetually searching for a camera to gaze into. Doesn’t even have to be a camera. Any microphone will do.
I once had an interview with Jones in which I’d exhausted my curiosity after about half an hour. He looked disappointed, though he did smile. “Don’t you have any more questions? I love to be interviewed.”
Indeed. Which may be the main reason the Cowboys are not making the “long postseason run” that Jones suggested was needed to earn Garrett a new contract when his current one expires on January 14. Jones cannot get out of his own way.
Media speculation is rampant that he’s trying to reassign Garrett to a front-office position. Perhaps he can be a glorified scout. One of Garrett’s strengths is evaluating players.
As much as Jerry Jones, Troy Aikman, Chris Simms and others laud the splendor of the Cowboys’ roster, there’s room for improvement, especially in special teams, defensive secondary and linebacking. And shouldn’t a run-dominant team have a fullback? Jamize Olawale doesn’t count. This is not a Super Bowl team, I don’t care who’s coaching it.
But it should be better than the very flat 8-8 that Garrett produced this season. Which along with his 2-3 career postseason record is why he will be replaced. He has advised his assistant coaches to seek other jobs, and Kris Richard became the first interviewee for the New York Giants’ head coaching position.
Ed Werder, well connected to Jones and the rest of the Cowboys’ front office, tweeted Friday that the team has decided to move on from Garrett, that there will be no other job for him in the organization.
Garrett’s problem is that like too many NFL coaches he hasn’t kept up with the times. He admits, almost proudly, that he hasn’t joined the age of analytics.
Belichick, Payton, Shanahan, Reid, Harbaugh, McVay can scheme all they want. Garrett keeps it basic, to reduce the chance of error. There’s little imagination or deception.
So why has Jones stayed with him so long?
As much lip service as he pays to Super Bowls (he won three of them in the 1990s), they’re not as important as the popularity of the Cowboys’ brand and, even more importantly, his own.
Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk observed: “I don’t know how much fun it is to cover this silence out of Dallas, but in a sense it’s very Cowboyseque. You’ve got vacancies with the Browns, the Giants, and Washington introduced a new head coach Wednesday. We’re not talking about any of that. We’re talking about what the hell are the Cowboys doing. Cowboys win again.”
What makes this expected parting so difficult is that Garrett is almost like a son to Jones. They’ve been close since 1992, when the Cowboys signed Garrett as an undrafted free agent quarterback. At that time, Jason’s father, Jim Garrett, was a scout for the Cowboys.
When Jason was a 43-year-old offensive coordinator for the Cowboys in 2008, he was one of the NFL’s hottest commodities. The Baltimore Ravens offered him their head-coaching position. His loyalty to Jones was such that he stayed with the him for a mini-promotion to assistant head coach.
So the Ravens hired their second choice, John Harbaugh, who’s won a Super Bowl and could be favored to win his second one this February. Too much irony here to try to think about.
Point being that breaking up with Jason is one of the most difficult actions in Jerry’s 77-year-old life. It brings to mind the Jackson Five classic, Never Can Say Goodbye.
Jones refuses to accept that he is the main problem. Why would a good coach want to work for him? By always being out in front, discussing his concerns about the team, he undermines his head coach. The players speak directly to the owner rather than respect the chain of command.
Garrett became a laughingstock, clapping on the sidelines, ignored by most of the players. Which didn’t bother Jones all that much. When he had great coaches — Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells — he was no happier than he’s been with the relentlessly second-rate. As long as revenues pour in and he can bask in limelight, Jones has shown, again and again, that he can put up with inferior coaching and postseason drought. Expect more of it.
