FWST Blog: So how close was Garrett on Rams job? *Merge*

[RCowboyFan]

The venom for Jason Garrett is amazing.

On one hand, you have the Garrett homers who insist he'll be a great coach, though he's yet to prove anything. On the other hand, you have moron TO fanatics who deride anything and everything to do with Garrett.

They so eagerly latch on to a report that negatively portrays Garrett, but dismiss as lies the mostly-confirmed lockerroom stories concerning TO.

I wonder if some of these guys will even call themselves Cowboys fans in a month or in a year when TO is gone.

Well its always easy to blame coaches and get rid of coaches than Players. Like Bill Parcells said, Losers blame it on schemes.

Its the same thing with TO, as it was with Quincy seems like. Some refuse to see the issue even if it hits them in the head.

Having said that, as much as I want Garrett to stay, he has lot of changing to do. Not sure if it was him or Wade, I never liked the reluctance to play rookies. Maybe thats the same reluctance to use new plays or change in schemes etc.

ONe thing though, Cowboys have bunch of players, who are ready to whine about schemes than excecute the game plan, with the leader among them being TO (Others include Gregg Ellis, Romo, Tank, Crayton so on so forth).

 

[TNCowboy]

Perhaps you forgot the offense of 2007.

No, I didn't forget it. I simply noted that the offense was almost as productive in '06 when he wasn't here, and then declined in '08.

The common denominator of the good seasons isn't Garrett, it's Sparano.

That's not to say I'm sold on Garrett not being a good coach, or vice versa. I think the jury is clearly out on him still.

 

[khiladi]

Well its always easy to blame coaches and get rid of coaches than Players. Like Bill Parcells said, Losers blame it on schemes.

If that were the case, Stewart would still be running this defense...

 

[Cowboyz88]

As I've said before, if the offense (with a full season from a HEALTHY Romo) returns to '07 form, all the haters will be all over Garrett again and thanking their lucky stars that he didn't go to the Rams.

To turn on him for a down season with an injured Romo (how quickly they forget) is crazy. Fickle bunch for sure.

Sometimes, I wish people would stick to the Landry three-year credo before writing someone off.

 

[khiladi]

As I've said before, if the offense (with a full season from a HEALTHY Romo) returns to '07 form, all the haters will be all over Garrett again and thanking their lucky stars that he didn't go to the Rams.

To turn on him for a down season with an injured Romo (how quickly they forget) is crazy. Fickle bunch for sure.

Sometimes, I wish people would stick to the Landry three-year credo before writing someone off.

A Romo with a bruised pinky is still better than 3/4th of the QBs in this league. If Garrett can't win with him and TO and RW, as well as Choice running like a baller, and Witten and Bennett, he flat-out sucks...

 

[theebs]

LOL @ (1) that the putz would "insist" on getting a tour of St. Louis even though he apparently wasn't at the top of the coaching list, and (2) the idea that Garrett would turn a job down for $400k.

garret is a putz now?

 

[Cowboyz88]

In all seriousness, how can you be so sure that an injured Romo is better?

Most everyone agrees that Romo never looked the same after his injury. I maintain that he never felt right after he came back.

His passes were sometimes too high, too low or WAY off target, which wasn't really his M.O.

Now, I'm not saying Garrett had a great year (his defense for B. Johnson is mind-blowing), but I think given the '07 season, he deserves at least one more season to prove himself. After all, he was only in his second season.

A Romo with a bruised pinky is still better than 3/4th of the QBs in this league. If Garrett can't win with him and TO and RW, as well as Choice running like a baller, and Witten and Bennett, he flat-out sucks...

 

[brickman]

The fact of the matter is despite the Romo injury we still had a chance the last 2 weeks of the season to win one game and get into the playoffs. This team fell flat on their faces in 2 very emotional games - the last game at Texas Stadium and then the game at Philly against their hated division rivals. They showed absolutely no character in the Philly game and not much more in the Baltimore game. As someone said earlier, the problems run deeper than a few coaches ... this whole organization needs a kick in the butt!

 

[JBS]

hey guys, I am reading on other boards that Jason Garrett actually turned down the rams job because he would have taken a pay cut to become their head coach. After the 2 sides could not reach an agreement Garrett came back to Dallas and Spags accepted the Rams job. Anyone else hear anything on this?

Here is what I read


Beginning on Friday afternoon and continuing into Saturday, it appeared that Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett would be the next head coach of the Rams.

By Saturday afternoon, Garrett was on a plane back to Texas.

And Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was getting the job.

So what happened? What derailed Garrett’s hiring, which seemed imminent when he returned to St. Louis only two days after his “finalist interview” on Wednesday?

As the rumor mill goes, it was all about money.

The Rams, as we hear it, weren’t going to spend a penny above $11.5 million over four years.

That’s an average of $2.875 million per year. And, for Garrett, who reportedly received a contract in the ballpark of $3 million last year when he decided to stay in Dallas, the step up in title wouldn’t have represented much if any of a step up in salary.

As we hear it, Garrett’s agent, David Dunn, thought that the Rams would cave, given that Dunn also represents Rams G.M. Billy Devaney.

If so, Dunn thought wrong.

John Shaw, who has stepped aside from his president role but who handled the negotiations for the next head coach, refused to blink — and in the end Spagnuolo and agent Bob LaMonte were willing to take the $11.6 million deal.

 

[TheCount]

Makes you wonder if he was using that as some sort of leverage with Jerry.

If the story is true, that's absolutely what it sounds like.

That's like bringing your wife for a tour of the building you're applying for a job in, most people doing the hiring would consider that a little pompous, as if you're assuming you've got the job already.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

No source? No validity.

 

[Cowboyz88]

Just curious.

Who here would take a pay cut to do a job with more pressure and more responsibility?

hey guys, I am reading on other boards that Jason Garrett actually turned down the rams job because he would have taken a pay cut to become their head coach. After the 2 sides could not reach an agreement Garrett came back to Dallas and Spags accepted the Rams job. Anyone else hear anything on this?

 

[JBS]

oh, its already been posted..im sorry - mods you can delete this thread...it looks like it is true..wow.

 

[khiladi]

In all seriousness, how can you be so sure that an injured Romo is better?

Most everyone agrees that Romo never looked the same after his injury. I maintain that he never felt right after he came back.

His passes were sometimes too high, too low or WAY off target, which wasn't really his M.O.

Now, I'm not saying Garrett had a great year (his defense for B. Johnson is mind-blowing), but I think given the '07 season, he deserves at least one more season to prove himself. After all, he was only in his second season.

Let us say that was the case... Why didn't Garrett shorten the routes? Why did he insist on going 7 step drops, with deep vertical routes, while Romo continued to get hammered? He almost destroyed our franchise QB with his inept play-calling. Garrett could have set this franchise back many years, as InmanRoshi, whom I vehemently disagree with in many matters, pointed out in one of the best posts I read on this forum, because of his inept-ness. How long was thsi team looking for a QB, and found it? A QB that pretty much fell in our lap. It was like striking gold.

That is alone worthy enough to get him fired, especially with all the money he got paid.

 

[chinch]

it's always about the money in sports.

spags to $11.5 over 4 years which to Jason obviously would have been a per-year pay cut. Jason has jerry on the hook for $6m over the next two years. his overinflated sense of self-worth no doubt believes in 2 years he'll parlay that $6m guaranteed into a HC job - and significant pay raise - here or elsewhere.

that said spags is the better hire for Rams HC.

 

[theogt]

garret is a putz now?

It's just my opinion. I've never liked the guy. I didn't like him when he showed up, with no qualifications whatsoever, and just took Sparano's job. I didn't like him when he used interviewing last year to leverage Jerry into overpaying him. And I don't like him now when he's "insisting" on touring a city when he's not the leading candidate. He just seems to have the entitled sense about him, like he should have just have everything handed to him.

 

[theogt]

Either he blew a job that was almost his by negotiating poorly or he insisted on the tour for a job that was never almost his.

So they can't both be funny. They can't both be true and they're not particularly funny if not true.

The part about the money isn't true. I was laughing at the idea that someone would turn down the job based on $400k difference over 3 years. That's just absurd. Truth is, Garrett never had a chance against Spagnuolo. Devaney on Spags:

"We were monitoring his situation the whole time," Devaney said Saturday night. "If somebody jumped up and grabbed him, I would've been crushed."

 

[dbair1967]

And I don't like him now when he's "insisting" on touring a city when he's not the leading candidate. .

you are being incredibly naive if you really believe this

I'm pretty sure the franchise's doing the interviewing pay for all the accomodations during the interview process...if they didnt deem Garrett as a potential hire, they'd have never flown him back up there for this..why would they waste their time and money to do this if Garrett wasnt a strong possibility, or if they had already made up their mind to hire someone else?

 

[dbair1967]

The part about the money isn't true. I was laughing at the idea that someone would turn down the job based on $400k difference over 3 years. That's just absurd. Truth is, Garrett never had a chance against Spagnuolo. Devaney on Spags:

what did you expect him to say? "we really wanted Garrett but our deal fell apart over money"??

of course not...

 

[theogt]

it's always about the money in sports.

spags to $11.5 over 4 years which to Jason obviously would have been a per-year pay cut. Jason has jerry on the hook for $6m over the next two years. his overinflated sense of self-worth no doubt believes in 2 years he'll parlay that $6m guaranteed into a HC job - and significant pay raise - here or elsewhere.

that said spags is the better hire for Rams HC.

Garrett's current contract has 2 years left on it (maybe 3) worth $6 million (or $9 million). If it's about money, he made one helluva stupid decision.

But then, it's pretty obvious it's not about the money and he just wasn't a top candidate for the job.