Jones says Garrett has evolved positively as Cowboys’ head coach

A year ago at this time, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was defending his decision to keep coach Jason Garrett, who seemed to be in lame-duck status for another season.

What was the point of it all if the inevitable departure was bound to happen the following season?

At least, that was the conventional thinking at the time.

Now Jones talks about Garrett with the feelings of a proud papa.

He is emboldened by his decision to stick to his guns a year earlier and is satisfied that Garrett led the Cowboys to a 12-4 mark and the first playoff win since 2009.

It was humorous to Jones that he talked to the media for 90 minutes on Saturday and the first hour went by before he was asked anything about his head coach, who received a five-year, $30 million contract extension last month.

“What’s to ask,” Jones said with a chuckle. “I certainly do think he is a good coach. But it was about the future. My biggest responsibility here was to access that for the future and quantify it for the future. This was a not a reward. You can say the contract is a reward. You wouldn’t have gotten it if you had not done good.

Garrett stands to pass Jimmy Johnson as the longest-tenured coach since Jones bought the team in 1989 and move into second in franchise history behind the legendary Tom Landry next season.

“I think it’s real important we got to evaluate him. It was very transparent. It’s called 8-8. On the other hand, I can tell you firsthand there were some things that were imaginative. There were some things that were done we want to have as a part of what the Cowboys are about for the future. Work is his No. 1 asset. He is a worker.”

One of the things Jones likes about Garrett is his ability to adapt and adjust, as evidenced by his moving from the offensive side of the ball to focusing mainly on the defense in 2014.

Jones believes Garrett has a long future with the Cowboys.

“Jason has shown me that he can adjust and will adjust,” Jones said. “That, to me, is very important. We are not going to be doing it 10 years from now as we are doing it today.”

Jones said he is also excited about what the first real taste of success will do for the players.

He believes their lives and their attitudes have changed for the better because of the experience. He also believes it will cause people to look at them differently, even going so far to compare receiver Dez Bryant’s supposed combustible emotion to that of Muhammad Ali, who was eventually celebrated for his emotions.

“They really aren’t the same players. Dez, we talk about his emotion — well his emotion has a positive effect. It’s exaggerated, but Ali was exaggerated,” Jones said. “I feel like we’re going to have the benefit, as opposed to sitting here last year, of success. Tasted it and we can build on it.”

This story was originally published February 22, 2015 at 8:07 PM with the headline "Jones says Garrett has evolved positively as Cowboys’ head coach."