No more denying it. After latest loss, Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has to go.
The only play for Jerry Jones at this point is a Friday Night Massacre. No one is safe. Not even Charlotte.
Stephen? Out. Jerry Jr? Done.
Jason Garrett? Out.
Rod Marinelli? Why are you still here?
Kris Richard? You know how a door works.
And, Dak, no contract for you.
After watching one of the worst offenses and quarterbacks in the NFL put on a show against Marinelli and Richard’s defense in a game the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys should have won, anyone associated with the Cowboys needs to put a bag over his head when going out in public. Probably at home, too.
The defense is going to bury this team, and that falls on the architect of the unit, Marinelli.
With yet another chance to solidify a playoff spot they clearly don’t want, the Cowboys were abused by one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. On Thursday night, in nearly ideal conditions for Chicago in December, Mitch Trubisky and the Bears beat up the Cowboys, 31-24.
This was a one-score game in the way water is dry.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after the game Garrett won’t be fired. He will be the coach in the next game.
The Cowboys aren’t good, their defense is terrible, their spirit is shattered, and they know the head coach is gone.
Those are ideal conditions for a discouraged team to quit, which despite their status as “best team” in the NFC East, they play like a team that is done.
Because they are.
THE DECONSTRUCTION OF JASON GARRETT
The Chicago Bears entered the game with the 29th-ranked offense in the NFL, and ... it doesn’t matter.
It’s over. All of it.
An experiment that began in 2007 when Jerry Jones made Jason Garrett his first hire after Bill Parcells retired is nearing its conclusion.
Regardless, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott passionately defended Garrett after the game. He said he does not think the players have quit on their coach.
He said that it’s “false” to think the players are out on Garrett.
When I asked Garrett if the speculation on his job is a distraction for his players he said, “I can’t speak to that.”
When I asked Garrett to address the notion that his team has checked out on a coach he said, “I don’t believe that at all.”
Nonetheless, letting Trubisky and the 6-6 Bears score 30 points on you can’t happen. By December, you know what you are. The Cowboys aren’t good.
The Bears have scored 30 points one other time this season, against the putrid Washington Redskins.
By now, we should have all been braced for both this season, and Thursday’s outcome. Under Garrett, the Cowboys have never been good in consecutive seasons.
The Cowboys can win the NFC East with a 7-9 record, and host a playoff game, but that won’t disguise the truth about this team. They are deficient in too many areas to be considered anything more than barely average.
They started the season 3-0, and are 3-7 since. They are a mirage of nice guys, some talent, and Santa’s sleigh of empty stats.
THE TROUBLE WITH FIRING JASON GARRETT NOW
The last time Jerry fired a coach during the season was Wade Phillips, after a blowout loss on Sunday Night Football in Green Bay.
At that point, the Cowboys were 1-7, and the season was gone.
No one loves to gamble more than Jerry, and his only play is to fire his adopted son. Firing a coach this late in an NFL season never works, but for the first time in his tenure Garrett is losing this team.
It’s hard to be engaged to a head coach you know, deep down, is out.
The problem with firing Garrett is there is no one on his staff he can immediately elevate.
The Cowboys’ “hot assistant” coach is co-defensive coordinator Kris Richard. Jerry can’t promote a coordinator of a unit that has slowly become one of the worst in the NFL.
And, other than the players, no one has deftly avoided the shark pit of gators more than Marinelli.
THE COWBOYS DEFENSE IS AWFUL
With 6:26 remaining in the third quarter, Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith broke up a Trubisky pass to force a punt. Smith then celebrated the play with his patented “swipe.”
Mr. Smith picked an interesting time to recognize his achievements. At the time, the Cowboys only trailed 24-7.
The players, the GM, the scouts and the coaches have failed in building, designing, and playing, defense.
Seven times opponents have scored 20 or more points, including four of the last five.
The front office refuses to put a high emphasis on safety, and continue to get the results you would expect.
The starting cornerbacks are not making plays.
The scheme relies heavily on talented, play-making defensive tackles, which they don’t have. If that doesn’t work, the linebackers need to play well.
They have not. The Cowboys linebackers are the most disappointing unit in the league this season.
This is what you get.
“It’s not complimentary football at all in any way,” center Travis Frederick said. “It’s not just offense or the defense. It’s the offense within the offense. That’s what it is.”
And I have not even mentioned the football tragedy that is the place-kicker.
Three games remain, and at best the Cowboys can finish 9-7.
The Cowboys may win the NFC East, and host a playoff game, but they are broken.
Jerry is out of moves but one. He won’t do it, but a Friday Night Massacre may be in order.
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 10:42 PM.
