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As devastating as last Sunday's 26-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Playoff was—especially when you consider the controversial disallowed catch by receiver Dez Bryant—the Cowboys didn’t wallow long in grief.
Instead, they ensured the team would build on its success in 2015 by locking up the important coaching triumvirate of Garrett, Marinelli and Linehan.
All three were without contracts and needed to be secured so the Cowboys could sustain their success next season.
The return of Garrett was a foregone conclusion, and the Cowboys moved quickly to take care of him with a five-year, $30 million contract extension on Tuesday.
Clearly, Garrett was the first and most important domino to fall, but if the Cowboys truly hoped to build on the foundation they laid down in 2014 and pave the way for their head coach's future success, they needed to keep the men who ran the offense and defense in the fold.
“I think it’s important to try to have systems of offense, defense and kicking game in place, stuff that we believe in, stuff that we can improve upon,” Garrett said Tuesday. “I think that’s an important piece of the puzzle.”
This will be the first time the Cowboys have had any real continuity in a positive direction on offense and defense since Garrett took over as head coach.
Garrett served as his own play-caller in 2011 and 2012 before relinquishing the role to offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Bill Callahan in 2013. He was replaced by Linehan in 2014.
Rob Ryan served a disappointing turn as defensive coordinator in 2011 and 2012 before giving way to Monte Kiffin in 2013. Marinelli took over in 2014.
But wanting to get them secured with extensions and doing it are completely different things. And it wasn’t easy with Marinelli or Linehan.
Marinelli was long rumored to be interested in teaming back up with close friend Lovie Smith in Tampa Bay. But Garrett and the Cowboys began re-recruiting him on the flight home from Green Bay last Sunday and convinced him to agree to a new contract extension on Tuesday.
It was a must, considering the miracle work Marinelli did 2014, turning a defense that was the worst in the league in 2013, the worst in team history and the third-worst in league history into a respectable unit that not only ranked 19th in the league but was second in takeaways with 31.
Remember, this was a defense that came into the season without any proven difference-makers in the front seven, thanks to the departures of Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Ware and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jason Hatcher in free agency and a season-ending injury to linebacker Sean Lee in minicamp.
“Rod’s just done a fantastic job not only for our defense but our whole football team," Garrett said. "He made our players better. He made our coaches better. He’s just a great football coach and he’s a great person to have in your organization.
"He represents all the right things and I thought the defense played remarkably well. We had a lot of questions coming into this season and we had some injuries, and at every turn that group just continued to overcome the different adversities that cropped up and handled the situations well and played very well.
“There are a lot of different ways to measure your defense and a lot of people get caught up in yards and all the different ways that people use numbers in this game but taking the ball away impacts the game. It impacts the game like none other, and for us to be second in the National Football League taking the ball away, that’s really positive impact on our football team.
"You look at the correlation between takeaways and points scored and it’s a pretty direct correlation and has been for a long time And points scored relates to winning. So their impact was significant and I thought they handled all the different adversities really well and I think his leadership had a lot to do with that.”
If Marinelli doesn’t get prime consideration for Assistant Coach of the Year honors, then Linehan should after revamping and remaking the Cowboys’ image on offense to marked success.
The Cowboys ranked fifth in the league in scoring and seventh in yards while fielding the league’s most balanced attack.
Under Linehan, the Cowboys went from the pass-happy unit of past years to a ground-oriented attack, resulting in a career year for both running back DeMarco Murray and quarterback Tony Romo.
Murray led the league in rushing, with a team-record 1,845 yards, lightening the load on Romo and paving the way for him to be at his efficient best. Romo passed for 34 touchdowns with just nine interceptions, while leading the NFL in quarterback rating, completion percentage and yards per attempt.
The Cowboys and Linehan came to an agreement on a new deal Wednesday night.
“Came in here with a system of football that was in place with a lot of players and coaches that were in place and fit himself in and led that offensive unit really, really well and I just think what he was able to do of maximizing the coaches and the players on that offensive side of the ball was just fantastic,” Garrett said.
Linehan worked his brand of magic while delicately negotiating the feelings of Callahan, who was miffed over getting his play-calling duties taken away after one season.
There is a chance Callahan will get a job as an offensive coordinator with full play-calling responsibilities elsewhere. His contract has also expired and has drawn interest from several teams.
If Callahan departs, Linehan will most likely replace him as the official offensive coordinator, though he was already running the offense as play-caller.
The bottom line is the Cowboys have the key figures in place maintain some continuity on the coaching staff and help build on their success.
That’s the first real win for the franchise in 2015.
“I really believe that we’ve built something here that we’re all proud of and we’re all excited about taking the next step with this football team,” Garrett said.
“I think we have the right kind of guys on our staff, the right kind of guys on our team and we’re excited about the opportunities and the challenges ahead.”
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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