The Dallas Cowboys have finally fired coach Jason Garrett. This time, it’s official.
The Dallas Cowboys never wanted Jason Garrett back as head coach. That has been clear since end of the 2019 regular season exactly seven days ago.
They have even brought in two potential replacements, Marvin Lewis and Mike McCarthy, for interviews at the team’s headquarters at the Star in Frisco.
They had just yet to officially show Garrett the door.
And Garrett, whose contract doesn’t expire until Jan. 14, used the passive-aggressive stance by the Cowboys to continue to lobby for his job, providing the backdrop for the start of easily the most bizarre firing and coaching search in franchise history.
The Cowboys went from trying to show Garrett the proper respect on his way out the door to creating an uncomfortable and uneasy environment for all involved by refusing to publicly announce their intentions to move on.
Well, the Cowboys have finally made it officially official, telling Garrett on Sunday that he will not be back as head coach, a source confirmed.
And this time, they meant it.
Jones: Garrett ‘strived for greatness’
The team released a statement from owner Jerry Jones, announcing “the Dallas Cowboys would not seek a new agreement on a contract extension with Head Coach Jason Garrett.”
“We are extremely grateful to Jason Garrett for his more than 20 years of service to the Dallas Cowboys as a player, assistant coach and head coach,” Jones said. “His level of commitment, character and dedication to this organization has been outstanding at every stage of his career. In his nine full years as a head coach, he guided our team to three division championships while also having them in position to play for the NFC East title in the last game of the year in four other seasons. His tenure of leadership will be characterized by his ability to produce teams that always played with great effort, emotion and passion, and he represented our organization with great pride, loyalty and respect.
“Jason Garrett’s legacy with the Dallas Cowboys will always be that of someone who strived for greatness every day that he walked through the door, and as someone who instilled the virtues of enthusiasm, hard work and appreciation for the profession in all of the men who played with him and for him.
“He is, and always will remain, a cherished member of the Dallas Cowboys family, and his contributions to the organization are greatly appreciated.”
That they would move on from Garrett was clear, and has been since the shocking and disappointing 2019 season ended with Garrett’s fourth 8-8 finish in 9 1/2 seasons as head coach in what was the final season of his contract.
An 8-8 record in 2019 didn’t warrant a new deal, especially since he entered the season with the explicit mandate of getting to the NFC title game or the Super Bowl — only to underachieve with the franchise’s most talented team since the 1990s.
Garrett went 85-67 as the Cowboys’ head coach, making the postseason three times with three NFC East titles and winning two playoff games.
Assistants with expiring contracts have been told they are free to look for other jobs, and the team is going about its business of finding a new coach.
Potential coaching candidates
The hiring process began with Lewis, the former Cincinnati Bengals coach being brought in for an interview on Friday, and McCarthy, the former Green Bay Packers coach, coming in Saturday and leaving Sunday.
So far, the focus has been on candidates with former NFL head coaching experience.
With New England Patriots out of the playoffs, the Cowboys could make a play for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who previously coached the Denver Broncos.
McDaniels has already drawn interest from the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and New York Giants for their coaching positions.
The NFL Network reported that the Cowboys plan to gauge the interest of Oklahoma Sooners coach Lincoln Riley. But no interview has yet been set.
Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has been linked to the Cowboys for months.
So far things have been quiet in regards to Meyer.
With the New Orleans Saints also shockingly out of the playoffs after being upset by the Minnesota Vikings in the wild-card round, tight ends coach Dan Campbell and possibly defensive coordinator Dennis Allen could come into play for the Cowboys.
And that’s if the Cowboys don’t make a play for Saints head coach Sean Payton, the former Cowboys assistant who has long been considering a favorite of owner Jerry Jones. Payton signed an extension with the Saints before the season, but running a trade request by Saints ownership is not beyond the realm of possibilities in what is already a bizarre process by the Cowboys.
Interestingly enough, the Cowboys have already interviewed a candidate with a resume equal to Payton in McCarthy.
Payton’s career record is 130-77 record with six division titles, three trips to the NFC title game and Super Bowl title.
McCarthy has as 125-77-2 record with 6 division titles, four trips to the NFC title game and one Super Bowl title.
McCarthy’s interview with the Cowboys reportedly went really well.
His playoff success is what stands out over the only other known candidate in Lewis, whose 131-122-3 record in the regular season is offset by a 0-7 mark in the playoffs.
But what matters now is that the Cowboys are free and clear to move on to a new coach, as Garrett is finally gone.
This story was originally published January 5, 2020 at 5:45 PM.
