News: Jason Garrett: From lame-duck Cowboys coach to secure leader

[CCBoy]

Jason Garrett: From lame-duck Cowboys coach to secure leader

By Drew Davison
http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article25427758.html



Jason Garrett found himself with the dubious “lame duck” label a year ago, going into a season without a contract beyond it.

That’s not comfortable territory for anyone, particularly a head coach who is working for an organization whose general manager … well, has a lifetime contract.


But Garrett delivered when it mattered most, leading the Dallas Cowboys to an NFC East title and to the second round of the playoffs last season. Jerry Jones rewarded Garrett with a five-year, $30 million contract extension.

Lame duck to job security is nice, of course, but Garrett maintains that never crossed his mind.




Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article25427758.html#storylink=cpy

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

In the end, any hesitation Garrett might have had becoming a “walk-around” head coach has disappeared.

“It allows me to handle the head coaching responsibilities in a more focused manner,” Garrett said. “There are coaches in this league who have done a really good job structuring their staff like the way we have structured now, an offensive coordinator, a defensive coordinator, a special teams coordinator, that’s how we have it. I think it’s a good fit when you have people in those roles that you trust to execute things the way you want to do it.

“We have other coaches in this league who are a coordinator on one side of the ball or the other, but one of the things you have to understand is being a head coach is a full-time job, being a coordinator is a full-time job.

“If you are doing both of them, you have to find ways to get those other tasks and responsibilities allocated, so it’s really a matter of kind of divvying up the work and the responsibilities. If you can find guys you can trust to do those things the way you want them to, either way can work.”

Garrett has found the right balance, and the proof is in the results.

This is where his strength is. It took 3 LONG years for Red and Jerrah to figure it out but it was pretty obvious to the rest of the world.

 

[robjay04]

Regardless of how you feel about Garrett; it is nice to have SECURITY at the position. I believe the Joneses have proven to be loyal to Garrett and Garrett gives us the best job security since Tom Laundry.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

Regardless of how you feel about Garrett; it is nice to have SECURITY at the position. I believe the Joneses have proven to be loyal to Garrett and Garrett gives us the best job security since Tom Laundry.

Jerry said he learned from the past getting rid of coaches too quickly. And watching those three 8-8 seasons, while frustrating, one had to figure we couldnt continue losing games like we did in those crazy scenarios. Jerry hung in there becuz he looked at all the other things, the positives that many of us saw. The things that had a lot of us puzzled as to why we would see some of those blunders on game day. Hopefully all that stuff is behind us, because Red has a lot of positives.

 

[Fletch]

Garrett is turning into a damn fine head coach. He's already a good one, has been for awhile in my opinion. What I love is that he's home grown. We're building a family here we can all be proud of.

 

[Idgit]

This is where his strength is. It took 3 LONG years for Red and Jerrah to figure it out but it was pretty obvious to the rest of the world.

It was pretty obvious to those paying close attention that they were, in fact, figuring it out. It took how long it takes to retool a roster and assemble a quality staff, but the writing was on the wall the whole time.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

It was pretty obvious to those paying close attention that they were, in fact, figuring it out. It took how long it takes to retool a roster and assemble a quality staff, but the writing was on the wall the whole time.

There was some pain involved . . . . . . . . .

 

[robjay04]

I don't think the 8-8 seasons would have been as bad if they didn't end the same exact way each season. I did feel good about the team with the effort they showed against the Eagles in the finale where Romo was hurt.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Lame duck? That is reaching. He may have had his doubters but there was never any indication his job was in trouble except from the mediots trying to drum up another sensationalized story about the Cowboys.

 

[rynochop]

Lame duck? That is reaching. He may have had his doubters but there was never any indication his job was in trouble except from the mediots trying to drum up another sensationalized story about the Cowboys.

Idk, that lqst 8-8 season, i was mildly surprised jerry didnt let him go

 

[Idgit]

There was some pain involved . . . . . . . . .

Life is pain. There's always pain involved. But from the moment he took over, he was organized, efficient, and he had a plan. The false starts assembling his staff were more significant than the gameday miscues ever were.

That 2010 team was in bad shape. It had some expensive talent that was trending down, and we had holes in the roster everywhere. No depth at most of the key position groups, and then the always-tight cap was constricted by the Austin penalty and the new CBA. Despite that, we were competitive. Just in a place where we had to be perfect in so many other aspects of football to overcome the significant personnel deficiencies. When we were almost-perfect, instead, we didn't make the cut.

All I know is that I and a few others saw this coming from a mile away and told everybody who'd listen to just be patient and enjoy the team coming together. And there were a ton of fans who just didn't want to believe it who are not more comfortable believing it's either the coordinators who are responsible for everything or that Jason suddenly magically isn't an idiot and a puppet anymore.

 

[blindzebra]

He was never a lame duck. He kept the team competitive while doing a rebuild and having crippling injuries. Sadly only a handful of fans understood what was happening and knew we would be reaping the benefits for several years.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

It was pretty obvious to those paying close attention that they were, in fact, figuring it out. It took how long it takes to retool a roster and assemble a quality staff, but the writing was on the wall the whole time.

That's all well and good... But... If he continued to abandon the run and go shotgun crazy like year before..... No one starts this thread.

Thread title would be: coach goes from lame duck to toast duck or orange duck.... You choose

 

[Idgit]

That's all well and good... But... If he continued to abandon the run and go shotgun crazy like year before..... No one starts this thread.

Thread title would be: coach goes from lame duck to toast duck or orange duck.... You choose

I'd disagree with that, too. We were effective on offense the year before. We lost 5 whole games by a total of 8 points with one of the worst defenses in the league. The defensive improvement alone very likely wins us the NFCE.

Thread title would be the same, only people who don't want to accept the fact that Jason knows what he's doing would be talking about Rod Marinelli being the difference maker instead of Scott Linehan.

 

[CCBoy]

If the sky started to fall, then Chicken Little would be employed...

 

[CF74]

Going 8-8 while rebuilding is quite impressive when you put it all in perspective..

 

[CyberB0b]

This is where his strength is. It took 3 LONG years for Red and Jerrah to figure it out but it was pretty obvious to the rest of the world.

I think it was Jerry that didn't want a walk around coach. That's what has lead to a lot of the various sideline goofs we have seen from Garrett over the years.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

It was pretty obvious to those paying close attention that they were, in fact, figuring it out. It took how long it takes to retool a roster and assemble a quality staff, but the writing was on the wall the whole time.

I would agree with that for the most part but then we seemed to lose games in unbelievable ways and IMO a guy with Red's football pedigree wouldnt be making those mistakes. It was mind boggling really. I like Red but some of that game day stuff was inexcusable no matter what the talent was or wasnt. GOOD coaches dont make the blunders we saw in those game situations. I do credit our new coordinators more than the typical Garrett Kool Aid drinker. Its hard to argue against the results no matter how much one might like Garrett.

 

[CCBoy]

One catch away. I’ve heard this uttered by so many Cowboys fans this off-season. That if just one catch (or call) had gone their way, the ‘boys were on their way to a Super Bowl. Maybe because of the controversy in which the season ended or perhaps just the over-achievement as compared to last off-season’s expectations, but either way there has been a lot of talk about the Cowboys going to and maybe, just maybe, winning the Super Bowl.

And why not? Let’s face it; an expectation has been set. Now that we’ve seen the potential, as fans we are hungry. But I’m here to tell all of you Dallas Cowboys fans to talk louder. Not where you thought that was going? My apologies; it will just take a moment to explain. There is a basis behind this maddening line of reasoning. But first let me get a few things out in the open.

I’m not buying into the fact that this team isn’t going to miss Murray’s production from last year. That loss will hurt some, but not as much as naysayers keep trying to convince me. I’m also not buying into the fact that a rookie cornerback is going to seal up the backfield ala LOB. Furthermore, I am definitely not buying that a rookie defensive end is going to fix the hot and cold pass rush of a year ago, as rookie DE’s historically take time to come into their own. So what business do I have trying to further the “Cowboys are for real” hype train you ask? Where is my confidence coming from that Dallas is poised for a post-season run? It’s simple really, almost too simple.

Coach. Jason. Garrett.

It’s funny how one can go from the proverbial hot-seat one off-season to being hardly talked about the next. Amidst all the running back vs. offensive line, Greg Hardy, Sean Lee, and Romo’s back talk I hear it’s like Garrett and his staff are getting no headlines (aside from some drone & virtual reality talk). Yet this is where my trust is placed: in a young, preach-y head coach and an aging defensive coordinator (that worked a minor miracle last season).


Read more at http://cover32.com/cowboys/2015/06/...s-cowboys-lombardi-hopes/#BU2mqHGzxM11tjBT.99

 

[Bullflop]

Garrett has dutifully served his apprenticeship as the walk-around head coach of a team that has improved its roster significantly since he first set foot on the hallowed grounds of Valley Ranch. Granted, he may not have proven himself as the dynamic offensive coordinator Jerry had anticipated him to be. However, his services as a motivator and as an effective reformer of the culture in Dallas eventually proved to be invaluable. There's no denying he was cast into a role that he was woefully unprepared for but time and invaluable experience paid off. Additionally, other astute decisions made regarding the team's coaching personnel aided his cause as well.