The job of an NFL general manager in most cases requires a fair amount of knowledge about the game of football. One must be able to spot future talent, identify up and coming coaching candidates, and be a liaison between the owner and his coaching staff. Being a GM demands better than average results or you’ll be held accountable by the fans, media, and ownership. In Dallas, Jerry Jones is the exception to that rule. It doesn’t matter how the team performs as long as the money keeps flowing his way. Jones for all intents and purposes is judge, jury, and executioner regarding all football matters for the Cowboys organization, a team that hasn’t been to a Super Bowl in 20 years. The Cowboys brash owner has been known to refer to their popular TV ratings during times his “Jerry – Rigged” teams struggled mightily to stay at or near the .500 mark. He always has a unique way to put a spin on things to make them appear better than or not as bad as they really are which leads me to Jason Garrett aka Coach Process.
Why did Jerry Jones hire Jason Garrett?
Jason Garrett was hand picked by owner/president/GM Jerry Jones to not only be the offensive coordinator, he was also to be assistant head coach. Bill Parcells had stepped down at the end of the 2006 season after a heartbreaking loss at Seattle when Tony Romo mishandled a snap on a chip shot field goal that might have given the Cowboys their first playoff victory in 10 years. Jones decided to hire his assistant head coach before hiring a head coach. Who does that? 31 other GMs would’ve hired their head coach first and assigned their man the task of hiring their own staff of assistants and coordinators. Is it any wonder the dysfunctional nature of this team has now eclipsed 2 decades? Surely Jerry must’ve vetted Garrett to have made such a bold move. Well let’s glance at his resume to get a closer look.
Garrett had plenty of journeyman experience in the NFL as a backup quarterback with a career spanning from 1989 – 2004 with teams like the Saints, Cowboys, Giants, Buccaneers, and Dolphins. His career as a coach was exactly one year with Miami from 2005-’06. That’s it. Garrett was the quarterbacks coach for a Nick Saban-led team that finished the year at 9-7 and second place behind the Patriots. The quarterbacks “Coach Process” worked with were Gus Frerotte, Sage Rosenfels, and Cleo Lemon, not exactly Hall of Fame material. So why pluck a fledgling coordinator with next to no coaching experience and promote him to second in command of the Jerry Ship? Who would do such a thing? 31 other NFL GMs would’ve left that fruit on the vine to grow and ripen. Not Jerry! He’s gone as far as to compare Jason Garrett to a “modern era Tom Landry”. Oh, the things Jerry says.
Garrett uses “The Process” a lot in his press conferences which are about as exciting as an annual shareholders meeting discussing diluted share values, P/E ratios, or an hour or two of CSPAN. In the five plus years as head coach of Jerry’s Team formerly known as America’s Team, Garrett’s win loss record is 46-44 or .511. What got lost in “The Process” are the careers of Tony Romo and Jason Witten who deserved a lot better coaching than Jerry saddled them with. Garrett was offensive at times as offensive coordinator. Once he became the head coach, Jerry the GM stripped him of his play calling duties, handing them over to Bill Callahan and later Scott Linehan. It was under their direction the Cowboys finally fully committed to running the ball and that new/old philosophy carried the Cowboys to a 12-4 record, first place in the NFC East, and a spot in the postseason.
The 2015 season had Cowboys Nation thinking super thoughts of another division title and possibly home field advantage throughout the playoffs. These lofty expectations seemed justified after a 12-4 season with the league’s best offensive line, a budding up and coming defense and a Romo-led attack. Once Romo and Dez went down to injuries, though, it was next man up for the Cowboys. The only problem was their next man up was Brandon Weeden, and nobody worthy of a number one wide receiver to replace Bryant. Injuries happen, and teams have to find ways to move forward. That’s where coaching and preparation can help bridge the gaps a team faces. Garrett doesn’t possess those qualities as a head coach. He never had them, and he never will because he wasn’t properly prepared for the biggest job in the NFL. I blame Jones more than I blame Garrett. Heck, I would’ve coached this team for half of what Garrett gets and I’m quite certain we would’ve won more than four games last year. Jason Garrett won’t win in Dallas because his boss won’t let him and because he wasn’t ready to be thrust onto the grand stage that is Jerry World. Jones must first fire his GM, and then let a real one come in and find the next Bruce Arians.
So why did Jerry Jones hire Jason Garrett? Because he’s Jerry Jones that’s why and he’s going to run his team the way he sees fit no matter what. He fired Jimmy Johnson after consecutive Super Bowl victories so of course he will stand by his man till his man can’t stand anymore. Hey Jerry! I’m available and I won’t ice my kicker, just saying.
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