Jason Garrett coached like he was on his way out

Jason Garrett has created considerable anger for what is perceived as his undying loyalty to conservative play calling, but on Sunday night he coached like a man who no longer feared much of anything.

Twice in the span of approximately five minutes on Sunday night Garrett went for it on fourth down. That Jason Garrett.

What does he possibly have to lose? Garrett is on the other side of 50. Considering his body of work with the Cowboys, no NFL team would consider making him their head coach, and possibly not even as an offensive coordinator.

At this point, he is not necessarily playing with house money, but rather a lot of Jerry Jones’ money. JG has taken more of Jerry’s money than any coach ever has, so what’s a couple of fourth downs going to hurt?

Who knows? They may work out.

Why not go for it on fourth down from the back of your own end zone? If you’re going to be fired, be fired while you are trying to win a game.

Early in the second quarter of the Cowboys’ 27-20 win at Philadelphia on Sunday night, Garrett dictated the terms of this season to his team: They are going to swing. If they miss, at least they took a cut.

“If we didn’t take some of those risks we don’t come out of here with a win,” owner Jerry Jones said.

With the ball at their own 40 to start the second quarter, the Cowboys faced a 4th-and-1. Normally, Garrett trots out punter Chris Jones here.

On Sunday, they went for it. Alas, the play was negated because of a false start on tight end Geoff Swaim. Even a brave Jason Garrett knew better; they punted after the penalty.

On their next possession, the team faced a 4th-and-2 from their own 31-yard-line. The sane coach punts it here.

According to up back Jeff Heath, they were going to snap the ball to him on a fake. This was not open for discussion; they were going for it.

“We had been talking about that all week and we had an opportunity to run it,” Heath said after the game. “We got the look we wanted. They had eight guys in the box and I trust my guys more than their guys.”

To the surprise of everyone watching, Heath caught the snap and pushed forward for three yards and a first down.

The Cowboys used that Heath run as part of a 14-play drive that ended with a Brett Maher field goal.

Heath’s play gained but three yards and one first down, but there is a broader message here; that of urgency, that of trust, and that of ambition to make the effort to take a game.

“That was coaches’ call,” Heath said. “I just have to get the ball and run hard. The guys up front make that play happen. We needed that. There is no mystery we have been struggling.”

And there is even less mystery that the head coach can suffer another flame out finish and expect to retain his job for another year.

Garrett may be fired at season’s end, but, if Sunday night is any indication, until he is out, he’s going for it.

This story was originally published November 12, 2018 at 7:00 AM.