Garrett’s strengths and weaknesses-Can he improve as a HC?

GhostOfPelluer

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after 9 years?
Have you hit your ceiling professionally? It's a simple question. To pretend there is some artificial ceiling to be hit is asinine for anyone who is willing to work at their craft (particularly when it's not tied to physical/athletic prowess).
 

TexasHillbilly

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after 9 years?
After 20 years of doing the same thing, I still learn something every day. I also don't have 20,000 know it all's wanting to get me fired after every season. I am not dogging the fan base here, I am saying I only have to worry about 1 guy....my supervisor. Garrett has to worry about Jerrah and really doesn't care what we have to say. He is laughing all the way to the bank. He will never be a bilechek but there is always room for improvement....even for Jason G.

Also, I truely believe that if he doesn't win this year, he will be looking for another job.
 

ShiningStar

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Have you hit your ceiling professionally? It's a simple question. To pretend there is some artificial ceiling to be hit is asinine for anyone who is willing to work at their craft (particularly when it's not tied to physical/athletic prowess).

yes, either you can do the job rigt or oyu cant, not everyone can do every job and wasting 9 years is not worth it.

I hit mine after 1 2 years as i get older. if i cant do a job by 2 years, i move on. its silly to waste time.
 

ShiningStar

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After 20 years of doing the same thing, I still learn something every day. I also don't have 20,000 know it all's wanting to get me fired after every season. I am not dogging the fan base here, I am saying I only have to worry about 1 guy....my supervisor. Garrett has to worry about Jerrah and really doesn't care what we have to say. He is laughing all the way to the bank. He will never be a bilechek but there is always room for improvement....even for Jason G.

Also, I truely believe that if he doesn't win this year, he will be looking for another job.


said year after year after year. you like to be punched in teh face. Got it.
 

CouchCoach

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acr brings up a point I have wondered about after watching most of that All or Nothing doc on the Cowboys. I have this habit of not watching the central figure but watching those watching him. Did that with Owens and Bryant, trying to get a read on their reaction.

If you watched that series, did you get the feeling they were all in on Garrett? I didn't, they seemed attentive but in a way I would expect, seemed more "I am paying attention because I am paid to pay attention". I felt like Garrett was trying to command the room by dropping F bombs. He'll be a coach by talking like one.

These guys have spent most of their lives around football coaches and they know an empty whistle when they see one. They're the ones in the trenches when the bad plays happen and they're the ones that have heard from other players how predictable they are under Garrett. They know when their commander has failed them on the field and they talk among themselves just like all of us did with our bosses.

It would be very interesting to do a blind survey with the players on last year's team as to why they think they lost that game in LA and also just how many would be OK if this was Garrett's last season.
 

Idgit

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He’d be the first guy to say he needs to improve. I think he’d also say that many of the things you list as his limitations are things he does intentionally because it’s what he believes in and are not necessarily the things he’d have listed on his own list of things he wants to improve.

Generally speaking, Garrett teams perform up to their ability. We had a top-8 finish last season with a top-10 roster. Next year’s team ought to be better than last year’s and ought to be a contender in a tough NFC. If we fall short, it will probably be primarily because of execution and not necessarily coaching. With the obligatory hat-tip to the chorus of “if we’d coached differently we’d have executed better” that we’ll hear over and over again no matter what the outcome is.
 

ShiningStar

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He’d be the first guy to say he needs to improve. I think he’d also say that many of the things you list as his limitations are things he does intentionally because it’s what he believes in and are not necessarily the things he’d have listed on his own list of things he wants to improve.

Generally speaking, Garrett teams perform up to their ability. We had a top-8 finish last season with a top-10 roster. Next year’s team ought to be better than last year’s and ought to be a contender in a tough NFC. If we fall short, it will probably be primarily because of execution and not necessarily coaching. With the obligatory hat-tip to the chorus of “if we’d coached differently we’d have executed better” that we’ll hear over and over again no matter what the outcome is.

so you think its on the players, not the coaches? So you dont like McClays actions?
 

acr731

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yes, either you can do the job rigt or oyu cant, not everyone can do every job and wasting 9 years is not worth it.

I hit mine after 1 2 years as i get older. if i cant do a job by 2 years, i move on. its silly to waste time.

I agree Garrett can't improve any more and has hit the ceiling.

With that said, though, I find myself constantly learning new things, even after 28 years in the same career field. But that comes with a job that evolves and changes every other year.
 

acr731

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He’d be the first guy to say he needs to improve. I think he’d also say that many of the things you list as his limitations are things he does intentionally because it’s what he believes in and are not necessarily the things he’d have listed on his own list of things he wants to improve.

Generally speaking, Garrett teams perform up to their ability. We had a top-8 finish last season with a top-10 roster. Next year’s team ought to be better than last year’s and ought to be a contender in a tough NFC. If we fall short, it will probably be primarily because of execution and not necessarily coaching. With the obligatory hat-tip to the chorus of “if we’d coached differently we’d have executed better” that we’ll hear over and over again no matter what the outcome is.

You don't hear Garrett admit he was wrong but on rare occasions. Normally he's throwing others under the bus.
 

ShiningStar

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I agree Garrett can't improve any more and has hit the ceiling.

With that said, though, I find myself constantly learning new things, even after 28 years in the same career field. But that comes with a job that evolves and changes every other year.

exactly and not all jobs are the same or the goals of teh job.

the goal of sports is to win. we might not all agree, but no one bought into a sports franchise and said "well, if we win great, if not, no big deal"
 

ClappingCarrot

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I also like how Garrett handles the overzealous Dallas media. Not exactly a coaching strength in a traditional sense, but that stuff is still important.
 

TexasHillbilly

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said year after year after year. you like to be punched in teh face. Got it.
that not it. They did not renew his contract. Win your in, lose your out.

Punched in the face.....you don't even know what you are talking about and you know even less about his level of coaching. Your assumption of me is wrong. I thought you were better than that.
 

eromeopolk

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As we near the 2019 season, hope for us Cowboys fans is high. And it is not unfounded. This year’s roster is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. We may have the most talent we’ve had since the 90s.

We start 2019 with Jason Garrett entering his 9th full season as head coach of the Cowboys. Only 5 other current NFL head coaches have a longer tenure: Bill Belichick, Sean Payton, Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh and Pete Carroll. All 5 of those HCs have won a Super Bowl. Garrett does have a decent record, at 77-59 and has won 3 NFC East divisional titles. But it’s the playoffs where he has struggled.

Jason Garrett has some strengths. There’s no way you can have a winning record as a HC over nearly a decade without having some strengths. IMO, here are Garrett’s strengths as a HC:
  • He motivates his teams to play hard. I’ve never seen a Garrett team just quit.
  • He is a decent judge of talent. Garrett has to be given some credit for increasing the talent level here since he became HC.
  • He has a consistent model of team processes. We laugh at his “process” but he is consistent with how he prepares his team, using most of the stuff used by Nick Saban.
  • He does not make excuses. Unlike his boss, Garrett doesn’t blame injuries or make other excuses like blaming the refs for losses.
  • He somehow manages to get decent results with the most meddlesome owner in sports.
With those strengths also come his weaknesses. In fact, if Garrett cannot improve some of these areas of weakness, I believe we have probably seen all we will ever see from his teams. Here are his weaknesses:
  • A lack of adaptability. Garrett’s greatest weakness is his inability to adjust on the fly, either in game or even in season. This is what has killed us in the playoffs.
  • Stubborn adherence to his schemes and philosophies, even when they don’t work. He will stick to a game plan or player even when it’s getting pummeled. (See Atlanta, 2017, or rams playoff game last year)
  • He is a poor in game manager. We have seen this over and over since 2010. He consistently does not manage the clock, timeouts, or situational decisions well. This is another area that can absolutely kill you in the playoffs. (See GB playoff loss in 2016)
  • He is not creative. Being creative with schemes and use of personnel is critical in today’s game. Because of the salary cap, talent margins among all teams is much thinner than in the 90s. Creativity is a major skill needed in today’s game.
As a whole, Jason Garrett is a better than average NFL HC, as his record indicates. But if we are going to ever see what we all hope as Cowboys fans- that we finally at least have another deep playoff run, then those consistent problems with adaptability, creativity and in-game management must change. Without those changes, we may have gone as far as we can with Garrett.

Can Garrett improve in these areas? Your thoughts?
He will not get better. Remember Parcells and Landry's 3 year rule.

You are what you are.
 

acr731

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exactly and not all jobs are the same or the goals of teh job.

the goal of sports is to win. we might not all agree, but no one bought into a sports franchise and said "well, if we win great, if not, no big deal"

Thats exactly how some members here think. Why be satisfied with regular season accomplishments. Is that what you're primary goal is? To be nothing more than competitive year in and year out? I prefer making history, not being a footnote of times long past.
 

CouchCoach

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I also like how Garrett handles the overzealous Dallas media. Not exactly a coaching strength in a traditional sense, but that stuff is still important.
He learned that early on watching Aikman. I believe handling the media is a coaching strength and one of the reasons he will get a shot with another NFL team.
 

Idgit

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You don't hear Garrett admit he was wrong but on rare occasions. Normally he's throwing others under the bus.

That’s, of course, completely false.

You rarely hear him publicly blame anybody at all, because he knows that’s not in the team’s best interest. And he knows how the Dallas media swarms when there’s blood in the water.

What he does do is say players and coaches need to improve. When he does, most of the time he includes himself specifically on that list and then transitions to talking about the players in more detail as he tries to answer the question.
 

glimmerman

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What a load of crap. Have you hit your ceiling professionally?
Do you think he is willing to do the work to get better. Is he going to change his conservative ways. I think he is what he is.. Maybe a little like JJ in the fact he wants to do it his way.
 

glimmerman

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This is a fair assessment of the guy. Good and bad. I, too, come across here as a Garrett fan or apologist, but I just want an unbiased, accurate representation made. It's not that I'm a fan as much a realist that the grass isn't always greener. I've made the argument in the past that he's shown tangible evidence of improvement (W-L record) from the first half of his tenure to the second. Not that he's irreplaceable, just that he has shown improvement.
That’s because he got on the job training of being a HC. You or I could be put in the job and show improvement over the course of 9 years.
 

acr731

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That’s, of course, completely false.

You rarely hear him publicly blame anybody at all, because he knows that’s not in the team’s best interest. And he knows how the Dallas media swarms when there’s blood in the water.

What he does do is say players and coaches need to improve. When he does, most of the time he includes himself specifically on that list and then transitions to talking about the players in more detail as he tries to answer the question.

He specifically threw Romo under the bus after a loss, and blamed him for changing the plays at the line.

But in all honesty, I have listened to his pressers maybe a total of 5 minutes over the past 10 years combined. I can't stand to listen to that smug punk talk.
 

ShiningStar

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that not it. They did not renew his contract. Win your in, lose your out.

Punched in the face.....you don't even know what you are talking about and you know even less about his level of coaching. Your assumption of me is wrong. I thought you were better than that.


a few things are going on that you might have missed. ok im sre you dont technically get punched in the face, however, this is abot sports, not all jobs. lets start there. the goal is to win, not be an even keel, or fill teh stands because people think you are good and some coaches ride that wave.

his level of coaching might be OC, and thats fine, not all coaches are HC material. hes a nice guy, however this isnt the occupation for him. that happens in life.

two things are constantly sceamed on this board, we have a lot of good talent, or Garrett sucks. For any sports, thats a bad combo, and with most teams rectified. our FO sees it and doesnt care. For coaches to be good, they can elevate decent players. Maybe Garrett is doing that, but the fans are confused if we have good players or if Garrett is good, clearly one of the two isnt working. For me it falls on the coaches , a good staff will play to its strenghts, Garret wont do this, he plays to the level of his opponents. He doesnt play the weaknesses ad he doest attack. Hes also still makig bad mistakes over and over and over. which after 9 years is annoying.

I want to see Garrett be constistet in winning with what he has, he doesnt do that.

Do you think the Jones boys didnt renew his contract just based on him? i tend to think it was a popular answer, play the "we ll see how it does and than make a move" in the Garrett era i ahvet seen the Jones boys be aggressive, which also leads me to believe Stephen will be a wimp as well, i could be wrong bt if he wanted to win, we would be seeing it by now. Garrett has been a 500 coach with a ferrari at times to play with.
 
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