Decision on Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett is inevitable, but it still lingers
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was all over the place — even more so than usual — following Sunday’s 47-16 victory over the Washington Redskins in a season finale that is expected to be the final game of Jason Garrett’s tenure as head coach of the Cowboys.
Jones refused to comment on if and when he is going to make a decision on Garrett.
Jones even tried to feign that he might not make a decision at all.
“What I wouldn’t do, in anything I’m saying here tonight, is shut any door,” Jones said. “I really want to make sure I’m clear about that and communicate that: There’s no door shut here tonight. None, anywhere, is shut. This is not what that is about shutting a door of an individual. I’m not doing that here.”
But considering Garrett entered the season in the final year of his contract without a contract extension because Jones made it so, he couldn’t deny the obvious.
“Yes, but what I wasn’t going to do is have a discussion on that tonight, address that one here this evening,” Jones eventually relented during a wide-ranging 29-minute interview in the bowels of AT&T Stadium. “I’ll be doing that in the near term. There’s no reason why I can’t in some near-term basis.”
Giving Garrett a new contract is not a real option after his team came into the season with Super Bowl hopes but became disappointing underachievers in an 8-8 finish.
Still, Jones is not any rush to make a move on Garrett and is not concerned about falling behind in the race for prospective candidates.
“That doesn’t concern me,” Jones said. “What other teams are doing, I’m not concerned about from a timing standpoint. I’m just not concerned about it. They can hire every name you’ve heard tonight, I’m not concerned.”
Garrett wants to return.
“I want to be the coach of the Dallas Cowboys,” Garrett said. “We will see what happens.”
A decision could made as soon as Tuesday, after Garrett finishes his exit interviews with the players.
He met with several players Monday, and more are set up for Tuesday in what is the most Garrett move ever.
It’s important for him to clean up the season, even in the face of the inevitable.
Garrett met with Jones and vice president Stephen Jones on Monday, and they plan to meet against Tuesday.
“We’ll have a good visit and see what’s next,” Garrett said Monday morning on his radio show on 105.3 The Fan.
Moving on from Garrett is a tough decision for Jones to make because of their relationship, which goes back to when Garrett was a backup quarterback on the Cowboys in the 1990s.
It’s no coincidence that his nine years represent the longest tenure of any coach since Jones bought the team in 1989.
“This is a difficult time. A very difficult time,” Jones said. “We got a lot to consider here. I do. It’s well known. There is no question that Jason has been pleasant part of my life. It’s certainly more than football: from being a player here, what he has meant as a coach, what he has meant as a working associate. He has just got a place for me. That is that. If he is coaching for the Cowboys 10 more years, or if he is not. He has done that. We have had that kind of life together. And it’s great.”
And now it is time for it come to an end after a season that Jones acknowledges has been an abject disappointment.
Even though Garrett was in the final year of his contract, Jones made moves to help get to the next level, starting with the change at offensive coordinator from Scott Linehan to Kellen Moore.
He signed running back Ezekiel Elliott, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, linebacker Jaylon Smith and tackle La’el Collins to contract extensions.
They added receiver Randall Cobb and defensive end Robert Quinn in free agency and traded for defensive tackle Michael Bennett.
Jones didn’t expect to finish 8-8, the fourth .500 season in Garrett’s nine seasons as coach. It was also the sixth time the Cowboys failed to make the postseason.
“Very disappointing. This has been a serious disappointment,” Jones said. “Not expected, did not expect it. Planned on being right here in the playoffs. All of the goals that we had, we aren’t getting to pursue.”
Jones was equally confounded by the disparate play of the Cowboys. They scored 44 points against the Redskins after not scoring a touchdown in a 17-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that would have won the NFC East and clinched a playoff berth.
The Cowboys scored over 30 points in all eight wins. They trailed at halftime in all eight losses.
“It’s unbelievable. We blew people out, and we couldn’t get out of our own way at times,” Jones said. “Inconsistent. I’ve heard that word used a lot. The inconsistencies that are involved with this season are mind-boggling. But that’s what this time is about, beginning right now, is to really reflect back on it and look and see how we can make improvements. I went in, we made a lot of coaching changes to start this year. A lot of coaching changes.
“And I went in thinking that was a strength of ours, those coaching changes. Now, I knew and said at the time that I wanted the exuberance of young coaches, and coaches that would basically go for it, try things. I didn’t want them being conservative in light of the fact that they didn’t have experience. I think that there’s no question that our lack of experience, and I had thought that Jason with his experience could be a great safety net for them. And there was just too much to catch this season.”
Jones made it clear that talent wasn’t the issue with the Cowboys in 2019, and he plans to go forward with the same foundation in 2020.
“We have a core that I’m proud of,” Jones said. “We can really build around it, yes, I think we do. Unquestionably. We won’t impugn the core here, of our team.”
The only question is: What coach will lead them?
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
