Garrett Officially Gets The Nod And The Decision Making
ARLINGTON (105.3 THE FAN) - Now comes the hard part. Jason Garrett is officially in as the Cowboys eighth head coach in team history. The question on many people's minds...Will he be given the power to run the team the way he sees fit.
Owner Jerry Jones addressed that today and popped up from his seat on the podium to say that Garrett will get his way. "Jason will have the final say on people who leave or come to the coaching staff. There won't be a player on the team that Jason doesn't want on the team. I'm gonna be real clear- he has the final say with the staff and coaches remaining or joining the staff." And with that, we will all get to debate once again just what that means.
Jones has always had the final say, even when Bill Parcells was here. So Garrett steps into this situation with the chance to call the shots. If that is truly the case, then Garrett had to be part of the decision-making process in bringing Dolphins secondary coach/assistant head coach Todd Bowles in for an interview, right? Well...sort of.
The Cowboys interviewed him for the head coaching position, but nothing prevented them from putting out feelers over other possibilities. Bowles could be headed this way as a coordinator if the Miami Dolphins blow things up under Tony Sparano. If that is the case, then Garrett had to be part of the decision-making process, right? It all gets convoluted and weird that way, but for now, we have to assume that this is Garrett's team. It is a far cry from the last time around when Wade Phillips took the job and Garrett was already here as the coordinator.
The deal is reportedly for four years. Garrett was already making upwards of $3 million a season as the coordinator. There is now salary talk being thrown around in the $7-8 million range for Jim Harbaugh if he decides to leave Stanford for the NFL, which makes Garrett seem like a bargain for now.
Garrett has the pedigree having played under Jimmy Johnson and being a part of the Cowboys organization for 12 years. "I understand how those teams of the early 90's played. It was the Cowboys way. Those are the models that I think about for this football team."
As for potential changes: "We will continue to make changes to get it the way we want to get it. We've done evaluations of players this week. With that comes the evaluation of coaches and there are always changes at the coaching level and we have to respond to those changes." Garrett could possibly have openings created by some coaching departures, and there is a looming question over how to fix a defense that gave up more points than any in Cowboys history. Those decisions might come fast and furious over the next few days.
So the worst kept secret is officially out. Now Garrett gets to step directly into the pressure cooker of coaching the most polarizing team in the NFL. And opinions on his performance will be just as divided. That's what happens when you don't sniff a Super Bowl for 15 years. At least we'll be able to smell this one in Arlington in one month with some NFL interlopers forcing Cowboys fans to at least wait for Indianapolis in 2012.
