Recommended Jason Garrett named 2016 PFWA Coach of the Year

[Elusive6thRing]

I called it a good team. I agree with that point.

The Chiefs are not a great team either. They can't stop the run, their O-line is mediocre, the D-line is supremely talented but was being held together with ace bandages and Alex Smith is their QB.

I'd take Reid over Garrett, but I'd take quite a few coaches over Reid. Of course hypothetically but we won't if we fired Garrett our options would be limited to best available.

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

I still disagree on Reid, it doesn't matter because he has a job. I don't think Garrett is the end-all but I don't know that we have a better alternative at the moment.

 

[Elusive6thRing]

Knowing Jerry even if Bellicheck became available he'd stick with Garrett over him or any other coach. We are stuck, I'm never been a Garrett fan. He's not a leader of men to me, he's an offensive coordinator.

 

[Sydla]

How about we let next season play itself out before making any declarations?

Assuming no serious injury issues that clearly affect the team, it's put up or shut up time. 7 years is more than enough time to get this thing rolling. I don't want to hear things like he's still growing on the job, etc.

 

[Idgit]

I fully admit that he has won me over. I still want to see improvement, mind you, but the coaching of the team was not a problem this season at all.

There's a lot he can do better with, for sure. NFL HC is a big job, and doing it in Dallas makes it tougher yet. But you're right that he's got a lot of qualities that have helped him be successful in a really tough situation.

Given the state of the roster and the cap and the owner when Jason took over, it's hard to believe not everybody sees the team has trended consistently upward in his tenure. You have to burry your head in the sand to think otherwise. We're contenders now, even if we lost a close game to a good GB team. We're one of 4-5 really good teams in the league right now. And we've got obvious areas where we can improve. It's time to appreciate that a little bit instead of digging in and insisting it's not really happening despite the recognition.

 

[Idgit]

I'd take Reid over Garrett, but I'd take quite a few coaches over Reid. Of course hypothetically but we won't if we fired Garrett our options would be limited to best available.

Andy Reid's a good coach, for sure. He's probably not a better fit in Dallas than Garrett is, but it's hard not to appreciate the job he's done in PHI and KC.

 

[Sydla]

Andy Reid's a good coach, for sure. He's probably not a better fit in Dallas than Garrett is, but it's hard not to appreciate the job he's done in PHI and KC.

One thing that drove Eagles fans' nuts with Reid was how he would often get away from running the ball. With Elliott and this OL, if Reid did that, this place might explode. LOL.

And interestingly enough, his disciple, Doug Pederson came under fire this year for doing much the same thing......... throwing the ball way too much, especially with a rookie QB.

 

[Stash]

I've been an outspoken critic of Garrett in the past, but I agree that he was worthy of the award this year. As a fan, I hope it's the first of many and that he gets even better.

 

[Stash]

One thing that drove Eagles fans' nuts with Reid was how he would often get away from running the ball. With Elliott and this OL, if Reid did that, this place might explode. LOL.

And interestingly enough, his disciple, Doug Pederson came under fire this year for doing much the same thing......... throwing the ball way too much, especially with a rookie QB.

For the record, I think Linehan did it.

 

[Idgit]

One thing that drove Eagles fans' nuts with Reid was how he would often get away from running the ball. With Elliott and this OL, if Reid did that, this place might explode. LOL.

And interestingly enough, his disciple, Doug Pederson came under fire this year for doing much the same thing......... throwing the ball way too much, especially with a rookie QB.

Very true. This place would blow to bits. They weren't happy with how much we ran the ball in Dallas this season, and we run it more than everybody else does.

 

[Plankton]

One thing that drove Eagles fans' nuts with Reid was how he would often get away from running the ball. With Elliott and this OL, if Reid did that, this place might explode. LOL.

And interestingly enough, his disciple, Doug Pederson came under fire this year for doing much the same thing......... throwing the ball way too much, especially with a rookie QB.

As much as people are killing Garrett about clock management at the end of the Packer game, Andy Reid is much much worse when it comes to clock management. I'm not sure that I have seen a coach with more success struggle with it as badly as Reid does.

 

[Sydla]

There's a lot he can do better with, for sure. NFL HC is a big job, and doing it in Dallas makes it tougher yet. But you're right that he's got a lot of qualities that have helped him be successful in a really tough situation.

Given the state of the roster and the cap and the owner when Jason took over, it's hard to believe not everybody sees the team has trended consistently upward in his tenure. You have to burry your head in the sand to think otherwise. We're contenders now, even if we lost a close game to a good GB team. We're one of 4-5 really good teams in the league right now. And we've got obvious areas where we can improve. It's time to appreciate that a little bit instead of digging in and insisting it's not really happening despite the recognition.

He gets credit but I think the bigger change in terms of the franchise has been the ascension of Stephen where he has been able to rein his dad in and influence important decisions. Garrett may have wanted Martin a few years ago, for example, but if Stephen isn't in that room that night, we would have taken Manziel. So I get wanting to give Garrett credit for an apparently culture shift in the front office, the bigger influence IMO is Stephen Jones, who also apparently has the respect of many people around the NFL as being more calm, less emotional than Jerry and a very smart guy.

It's also why I don't have this fear that some have that we can't dump Garrett in the near future if he continues to spit the bit in the postseason. I think with Stephen now assuming more power and being well respected around the league, I think the Cowboys could easily find a competent replacement for Garrett. If it happens in the next couple of years, that coach would be inheriting a very strong roster. It wouldn't be like taking over the Browns or Jags.

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

He gets credit but I think the bigger change in terms of the franchise has been the ascension of Stephen where he has been able to rein his dad in and influence important decisions. Garrett may have wanted Martin a few years ago, for example, but if Stephen isn't in that room that night, we would have taken Manziel. So I get wanting to give Garrett credit for an apparently culture shift in the front office, the bigger influence IMO is Stephen Jones, who also apparently has the respect of many people around the NFL as being more calm, less emotional than Jerry and a very smart guy.

It's also why I don't have this fear that some have that we can't dump Garrett in the near future if he continues to spit the bit in the postseason. I think with Stephen now assuming more power and being well respected around the league, I think the Cowboys could easily find a competent replacement for Garrett. If it happens in the next couple of years, that coach would be inheriting a very strong roster. It wouldn't be like taking over the Browns or Jags.

The biggest issue is you want a coach and front office philosophically on the same page and Garrett is sympatico with the Joneses. I don't think our situation is broken, so I'm not looking for a solution.

 

[Idgit]

He gets credit but I think the bigger change in terms of the franchise has been the ascension of Stephen where he has been able to rein his dad in and influence important decisions. Garrett may have wanted Martin a few years ago, for example, but if Stephen isn't in that room that night, we would have taken Manziel. So I get wanting to give Garrett credit for an apparently culture shift in the front office, the bigger influence IMO is Stephen Jones, who also apparently has the respect of many people around the NFL as being more calm, less emotional than Jerry and a very smart guy.

It's also why I don't have this fear that some have that we can't dump Garrett in the near future if he continues to spit the bit in the postseason. I think with Stephen now assuming more power and being well respected around the league, I think the Cowboys could easily find a competent replacement for Garrett. If it happens in the next couple of years, that coach would be inheriting a very strong roster. It wouldn't be like taking over the Browns or Jags.

Hard to say if it's Stephen, Jason, or the combination, but it really doesn't matter. Stephen's a huge supporter of Jason Garrett, so if he's the one making the good decisions and Jason is his pick for coach, it stands to reason he's likely the right guy for the job.

Nobody has any fear of dumping Jason Garrett. Most reasonable people don't want to dump Garrett because it would be a stupid thing to do. Consistency isn't that easy to get in the NFL. When you finally establish some, can demonstrate that your talent selection and development teams are doing their jobs, have roster unity and staff unity, and an upward trend with the performance of the team, why in the world would you dismantle that to bring in a new regime?

I'd also reject categorically that the team is losing playoff games because of the head coach. Not too long ago, I was rejecting categorically that we were losing regular season games because of the head coach. That was when the complaint was that Jason couldn't get us better than 8-8. We're losing playoff games because we have insufficient talent on defense. We've got picks, a roster that's clearing of cap space, we're probably the most desirable destination team in the entire league for defensive free agents, we've got a staff that can find and develop talent, and we might end up with a surplus of picks if Tony gets traded in the offseason. All we have to do is stay the course and keep fixing the roster at a faster rate than other teams are fixing theirs, take advantage of two of the next three years of no big QB contract, and contend.

The fact that we have a large number of fans in a Coach of the Year award thread who instead want to fire that coach and start again is mind boggling.

 

[Sydla]

The biggest issue is you want a coach and front office philosophically on the same page and Garrett is sympatico with the Joneses. I don't think our situation is broken, so I'm not looking for a solution.

I wouldn't say it's broken either.

But at some point, there have to be postseason results. If the Cowboys struggle next year or get bounced in their first playoff game again next year, there should be a long and hard look at where this organization is heading under Garrett and this coaching staff.

In the end, if you can't ascend the ladder, what good is it that the front office and coach are on the same page? It's like arguing we can't move on from Garrett in the future because the players play hard for him. That's great............ but if you aren't winning is it really that great?

 

[Sydla]

Hard to say if it's Stephen, Jason, or the combination, but it really doesn't matter. Stephen's a huge supporter of Jason Garrett, so if he's the one making the good decisions and Jason is his pick for coach, it stands to reason he's likely the right guy for the job.

Nobody has any fear of dumping Jason Garrett. Most reasonable people don't want to dump Garrett because it would be a stupid thing to do. Consistency isn't that easy to get in the NFL. When you finally establish some, can demonstrate that your talent selection and development teams are doing their jobs, have roster unity and staff unity, and an upward trend with the performance of the team, why in the world would you dismantle that to bring in a new regime?

I'd also reject categorically that the team is losing playoff games because of the head coach. Not too long ago, I was rejecting categorically that we were losing regular season games because of the head coach. That was when the complaint was that Jason couldn't get us better than 8-8. We're losing playoff games because we have insufficient talent on defense. We've got picks, a roster that's clearing of cap space, we're probably the most desirable destination team in the entire league for defensive free agents, we've got a staff that can find and develop talent, and we might end up with a surplus of picks if Tony gets traded in the offseason. All we have to do is stay the course and keep fixing the roster at a faster rate than other teams are fixing theirs, take advantage of two of the next three years of no big QB contract, and contend.

The fact that we have a large number of fans in a Coach of the Year award thread who instead want to fire that coach and start again is mind boggling.

Again, let's note I am not suggesting he be fired today.

I am taking a longer view of this thing. He has to start delivering playoff wins. That's the goal. That's why we are building this thing as we have been. To reach the end goal of winning a SB. Even if you don't think he's the reason we are losing playoff games, at some point, if you keep failing in the playoffs, you have to look at making a change.

So while you may find people wanting him fired by the end of the day mind boggling, I think it's equally mind boggling that people think he can go a few more seasons without delivering any real playoff success because they'll probably blame everyone else but him for the failures.

 

[Idgit]

Again, let's note I am not suggesting he be fired today.

I am taking a longer view of this thing. He has to start delivering playoff wins. That's the goal. That's why we are building this thing as we have been. To reach the end goal of winning a SB. Even if you don't think he's the reason we are losing playoff games, at some point, if you keep failing in the playoffs, you have to look at making a change.

So while you may find people wanting him fired by the end of the day mind boggling, I think it's equally mind boggling that people think he can go a few more seasons without delivering any real playoff success because they'll probably blame everyone else but him for the failures.

There are lots of reasons why teams lose playoff games. Replacing a HC for it when he's clearly not the problem doesn't make any sense. Especially when the reaction is mostly based on things as insignificant as the second-guessing of play calling or clock management in a particular game full of close plays.

Spend the resources we've got on the areas where the team is demonstrably deficient. Right now, that's pass rush. As long as the coach is finding and developing players who play hard and the team is improving, and there's an obvious area for improvement just screaming for attention, I want to put the resources where they're needed and not create a distraction that necessarily carries with it a personnel and system change.

Your argument for changing a piece that's working well is the same argument people made for changing the QB position in Dallas under Tony Romo. In both situations, the problem is not the HC, and it's not the QB. It's been the talent on defense since the 2010 season. Fix what's broken. Don't get caught up in changing a position because of it's prominence when it's not remotely part of the problem.

 

[Sydla]

There are lots of reasons why teams lose playoff games. Replacing a HC for it when he's clearly not the problem doesn't make any sense. Especially when the reaction is mostly based on things as insignificant as the second-guessing of play calling or clock management in a particular game full of close plays.

Spend the resources we've got on the areas where the team is demonstrably deficient. Right now, that's pass rush. As long as the coach is finding and developing players who play hard and the team is improving, and there's an obvious area for improvement just screaming for attention, I want to put the resources where they're needed and not create a distraction that necessarily carries with it a personnel and system change.

Your argument for changing a piece that's working well is the same argument people made for changing the QB position in Dallas under Tony Romo. In both situations, the problem is not the HC, and it's not the QB. It's been the talent on defense since the 2010 season. Fix what's broken. Don't get caught up in changing a position because of it's prominence when it's not remotely part of the problem.

What do you think of Marvin Lewis?

If the team continually cannot win in the playoffs, despite continual roster building and development, then it's the coaching staff that likely needs the change. I mean it's bizarre that if a coach is in job for say 10 years, and has one playoff win despite, say 5 playoff appearances, that one would then conclude............ gee, it's not the coach. It's gotta be something else.

And that's where we disagree. If Garrett can't take this team to the next level next year, I think it's because of he and his staff. There are no excuses anymore other than catastrophic injuries. I suspect you will continue to make excuses for him until the end of time.

 

[Idgit]

What do you think of Marvin Lewis?

If the team continually cannot win in the playoffs, despite continual roster building and development, then it's the coaching staff that likely needs the change. I mean it's bizarre that if a coach is in job for say 10 years, and has one playoff win despite, say 5 playoff appearances, that one would then conclude............ gee, it's not the coach. It's gotta be something else.

And that's where we disagree. If Garrett can't take this team to the next level next year, I think it's because of he and his staff. There are no excuses anymore other than catastrophic injuries. I suspect you will continue to make excuses for him until the end of time.

It doesn't follow that if a team can't win in the playoffs it likely needs a coaching change. I've seen teams consistently not win because they have poor QB play, I've seen them consistently not win because they lack defensive talent, or consistently lack talent overall, I've seen them not win due to a combination of reasons in different seasons, including injuries, match-ups, or simply getting beat by a better team in its prime in the division. To take a well-coached team and replace the coach because the team isn't winning doesn't make a lot of sense.

As for Lewis, that's a great question. I've never been a huge Marvin Lewis fan. I think he's a solid coach who was buoyed by a good DC in Zimmer. I also think he's saddled with a QB who's better than what's available to many teams, but who's a liability against good teams because he's not good enough. There are always AFC teams who's QBs give you more in terms of passing differential. That puts a lot of pressure on that CIN defense which has been, by and large, very good. That will let you beat bad or average teams, but then you come up against the good ones and it's too much to make up for your relative deficiencies at QB. So you win enough to get in, then get beat. If I'm running Cincy, I'm looking to upgrade QB before I upgrade the HC. Then I upgrade the HC if that doesn't work.

We've had similar issues in Dallas, only the obvious culprit has been the defensive performance. We've been too slow to address it, including this last offseason when we spend our most valuable resource at RB and then followed up spending our second most valuable resource on an injured defender who gave us nothing. Now, those picks might well have turned out to be great players individually, but it came at the cost of adding much needed talent where we need it most.

 

[lukin2006]

I'm not so sure it's anything he does...