Garrett’s team: He’s in control with streaking Dallas Cowboys

There was an official passing of the guard in the Dallas Cowboys locker room this week when now-healthy veteran quarterback Tony Romo conceded the starting job to rookie sensation Dak Prescott.

Prescott continued to strike the right chord, as he has all season, with a magnanimous statement of unity. This is not my team, he said, this is everybody’s team, this is our team.

What has become increasingly clear, however, as the Cowboys (8-1) have streaked to the best record in the NFL, including a team-record-tying eight consecutive wins heading into Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, is that coach Jason Garrett is the true captain of this team.

Not Romo. Not Prescott. Not even owner Jerry Jones.

While the robotic Garrett might never become the face of the organization, his methodical, consistent, non-emotional voice is the one that is being heard the loudest.

Jones said it’s a testament to Garrett’s evolution as a head coach. It comes in a season in which he entered on somewhat of a hot seat for a middling record over his first six seasons and is now the front-runner for NFL coach of the year honors.

“Jason has really got them believing,” Jones said. “He’s got some young guys who hang on his every word and he’s doing a great job.”

While the Cowboys are in the midst of a special run, this is not a team or a season that hasn’t had its issues.

The loss of Romo to an injury could have certainly set the team back as it did last year, when the Cowboys went 1-11 without him en route to a 4-12 finish.

The Cowboys also have played three games without receiver Dez Bryant, whose absence last year played a role in a seven-game losing streak that derailed the season.

The surprising rise of Prescott and the addition of NFL-leading rusher Ezekiel Elliott have been huge factors in the team’s success.

But so has the guidance, leadership and steady hand of Garrett and his seemingly mundane daily mantras of focusing on doing your best today, being your best regardless of circumstance, taking things one day at a time and moving on to the next play.

“Well, I think he’s brought to bear everything he’s about as a former player, former backup quarterback if you will,” Jones said of Garrett. “He’s got a doctor’s degree in looking at it from the perspective of a backup quarterback. So you’re pretty fortunate there. Then I think he has certainly from the time he got here, as a young head coach, he’s evolved into a coach that’s handling this situation in a great way. I said after the game the other day that I just have to call out and point out the job that Jason Garrett’s doing.”

It’s not just the young guys who have bought into Garrett’s philosophy hook, line and sinker. The entire team, young and old, parrot his every word.

When asked about the team’s winning streak, cornerback Brandon Carr said he hasn’t even thought about it.

“We are taking it one game at a time, one play at a time,” Carr said. “That’s been our mindset throughout this whole season. We are not going to stop now. Just keep our heads down, continue to grind.”

When told he sounds like a Garrett clone, Carr feigned surprise.

“Do I?” Carr said rhetorically. “He is rubbing off on me. He must be good at his job.”

The job Garrett has done is finally getting the right kind of players he wants in the locker room — players who play with passion, emotion and enthusiasm; players who have good football character in the approach to practice and work; and players who truly buy into the team concept.

“Well, it’s our message. It’s not my message, it’s our message,” Garrett said. “It’s the kind of culture we’re trying to build here, try to bring the kind of guys to your team and to your program who believe in those kind of things, they believe in the team concept, they’re willing to work for it, they’re willing to sacrifice and they’re willing to focus on the task at hand, what we need to do each and every day to be our best. That’s the emphasis we try to make throughout our team.”

The Cowboys are all about chemistry, relationships and accountability to one another.

It’s one reason why the Romo-Prescott quarterback debate never became an issue in the Cowboys locker room.

It’s also why certain guys are not in the locker room and on the team that were in the past, namely defensive end Greg Hardy and suspended linebacker Rolando McClain.

And even though he downplays the parroting of his messages by his players, the point remains the same —this is truly Garrett’s team.

“He’s always been great at giving the team perspective, keeping us on the right path,” linebacker Sean Lee said. “He has done an unbelievable job motivating us. He’s really been a big reason why we’ve started as well as we have, especially with some of the stuff we dealt with in the off-season.”

This story was originally published November 19, 2016 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Garrett’s team: He’s in control with streaking Dallas Cowboys."