It seems to me- at least to my eyes watching the Cowboys-Jets debacle on TV last Sunday- that Jason Garrett is losing or has lost the respect of his players. Unless you have had consistent success, most coaches have an expiration date in the locker room. And it usually takes less than 9 years.
And there’s a simple explanation why: After nearly 9 years as head coach, it’s discouraging to these players to continue to work for a guy that’s not inspiring, not getting better, and essentially has very little power. They already know it isn’t going to happen with Garrett. Even shorter answer: It’s discouraging to play for a guy who’s simply this powerless and passionless.
When I saw the comments made by eaglets HC Doug Pederson essentially guaranteeing a victory Sunday night in Dallas and compared that to Garrett’s weak response, (“I hope we win”) it’s no secret why Garrett may be losing this locker room. I would rather play for a HC who takes public risks and shows confidence in his players than to hear some milk-toast drivel about “having a good day” as a part of “the process”.
When you haven’t won much for two decades plus, having a HC who keeps doing the same things and expecting different results, it has to be mind-numbing for these players.
The only way Garrett could somehow regain the respect of these players who are risking their long term health every week, would be to start acting like he’s something he’s not. A great leader.
Jerry Is closer to 80 than 70. How many seasons is he going to throw away on a guy who doesn’t have what it takes to win?
Excellent post Hazey! IMO, garrett is in charge of game-time clock mgt and little else. The Jones boys determine starting lineups based in investment and draft order rather than merit. Plus you can take the Pats roster from last year, put them in the Garrett "system", and in the Jones boys country club culture and you will see a super bowl winning roster underachieve due to the aforementioned reasons.
Jerry has been our phantom hc since about 1997 except when parcells rebuilt our roster into a super bowl contender. Jerry set it up for maximum credit and minimal blame. Our roster is expected to mk a deep playoff run with a hc w/o power, an absentee unqualified gm, and a culture that values appearance over substance.
This roster has its share of gutless, underperforming players, most of which are those recently guaranteed tens of millions of dollars. But then again, the Jones culture almost enables this behavior.
Our franchises org chart is not a pyramid of authority and accountibility. Rather, it is a Jerry/Stephen centric hub and spoke hierarchy where all report directly to the Jones cartel. If a player is cool with Jerry, he has no accountibilty to the hc, assistant coaches, or even team mates.
These elements are an excellent case study of organizational dysfunction, and I refer to dysfunction where it really matters: wins and losses, deep playoff runs. I love the Cowboys and have since 1963. Its unimagineable to think Jerry has sunk our proud franchise into the worst 24 stretch in franchise history. Jerry's middle finger is proudly extended to all Cowboy fans of all ages. Remember "Hope is not a strategy".
