Michael Lombardi -- Cowboys hope Garrett leaves?

[Chocolate Lab]

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/01/notes-from-lombardi-2/

By Michael Lombardi
Posted January 5, 2009
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Notes From Lombardi

By Michael Lombardi:

FIVE THINGS I HEAR….

1. I hear the Cowboys are not sweating the notion of losing Jason Garrett to another team as a head coach. They are actually hoping this might happen.



2. I hear the Broncos were not enamored or impressed with Steve Spagnuolo and he does not seem to be the frontrunner. However, they were very impressed with Josh McDaniels of the Patriots, and he might be the favorite now. The Broncos might be on a fast track to hire a coach this week. Moving up the Raheem Morris interview means they might want to move quickly.



3. I hear — and keep hearing — it is Eric Mangini’s job in Cleveland, and he is already assembling a staff.



4. I hear Winston Moss, the Packers’ linebackers coach, might be the team’s new defensive coordinator.



5. I hear there are several teams interested in Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, and now that he’s out of the playoffs, his interview process can speed along. I hear the Rams and the Lions are major players interested in his services and I would not be surprised if he got one of those jobs.



FIVE THINGS I KNOW….

1. That Jim Harbaugh of Stanford University will be a great head coach, and the Jets’,Rams’ and Lions’ interest in him is not surprising at all.



2. The Broncos have a better young offensive coach on their staff in Jeremy Bates than the Cowboys have in offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. The NFL is all about perception, and very few watch tape to learn the real story. What did Garrett do this year to deserve an interview?



3. The Chargers are going to be better off without LT in their game against the Steelers. To beat the Steelers, you must have quickness and explosive movement, and right now, based on his injury, LT has neither.



4. The Eagles will have to bring Donovan McNabb back, and this is not even up for discussion. They have too many other needs, especially at tackle, to make a move at quarterback.



5. No one will ever get control of the Raiders at any point in the next 3 to 5 years. The Raiders’ future does not include the family giving away controlling interest. I do know the Raiders would like to sell another 10 percent of the team, but not their controlling interest. I have no idea who would be interested in buying 10 percent with no say and no control.



*Michael Lombardi will be appearing on the NFL Network tonight between 6:30 and 7:30pm eastern.

**Click here to listen to Lombardi’s most recent podcast with ESPN’s Bill Simmons

 

[canters]

He is just another reccycled NFL front office/football expert passing off his musings for $$. He did a great job with the Raiders, right?

 

[AmishCowboy]

I hope the Eagles are stupid enough to give McNabb a new deal.

 

[Bach]

Garrett may be the next best young coach in the league. But if so he is better off taking a job now, if offered, and not wait around for the Cowboys job. The way Jerry runs things in Dallas he'd destroy a young rookie HC. It's bad enough the way he handled things with Gailey, Campo and now Wade. I'd hate to see what he do with someone like Garrett.

The only type of HC that can be successful in Dallas co-existing with Jerry is one that has a strong personality and has had success. Someone that Jerry actually respects and is strong-willed enough to demand control over his own staff and on-the-field decisions.

 

[InmanRoshi]

If he didn't have "glory days" ties and a fancy piece of paper hanging on his wall, he would have been run out of town with the special teams coach. Of course, without those things he never would have gotten an OC job to begin with on such a flimsy resume.

 

[aikemirv]

I don't know who in the Organizqtion hopes he leaves but I do believe that Garrett is the only thing that is keeping Wade in place at this point.

I think Jerry knows that firing Wade now and giving the job to Garrett at this point builds no support from the team or the fans at this point. It would hurt the defense and do nothing for the offense and who knows what it would to for team chemistry.

It seems that team chemistry is the biggest problem the team faces at this point in time so to me, when the problem arose with Wade and Garrett in charge, i don't see the continuity approach having any merit.

Complete overhual with Shanahan would be my choice right now.

 

[Hostile]

The team does not hope he leaves. That's pure speculation.

 

[Bach]

Of course, without those things he never would have gotten an OC job to begin with on such a flimsy resume.

Even more ridiculous is that he was hired before we even had a HC in place and basically anointed as the heir-apparent from day one. Now that may change, it all depends on if Jerry is stubborn enough to stick with his original plan.

 

[LucaBrasi]

Read some of the other Mike Lombardi posts on that site. Here's a couple that caught my eye - "The Cowboys have not hit rock bottom yet." "Warren Sapp was right, the Cowboys have no toughness."

 

[Alexander]

He is just another reccycled NFL front office/football expert passing off his musings for $$. He did a great job with the Raiders, right?

Regardless of what you believe about the job he did in Oakland (who on earth could succeed there with that mess?), he's right.

I believe McDaniels is better and has the track record to prove it. In a manner of speaking, outside of his glowing reputation, Garrett doesn't have the results.

 

[Alexander]

The team does not hope he leaves. That's pure speculation.

Or do they and you are speculating they don't?

No one wants to lose a promising young coach. But if that departure means change is necessary across the board, wouldn't that mean they are not up in arms about it?

 

[Alexander]

If he didn't have "glory days" ties and a fancy piece of paper hanging on his wall, he would have been run out of town with the special teams coach. Of course, without those things he never would have gotten an OC job to begin with on such a flimsy resume.

What we were doing with him last year worked. He still needs a support structure as an offensive coordinator. That's obvious.

 

[WarDaddy]

The team does not hope he leaves. That's pure speculation.

Well, I hope he leaves but that seems a bit far fetched. If he stays, he needs a tutor or someone to help him with game planning.

 

[Alexander]

For what it is worth, here are some comments from Montrae Holland:

Garrett banking on an aggressive style

Cowboys give coordinator high marks
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Posted: 01/06/2009 12:30:00 AM MST


In the past three seasons, Montrae Holland has played for three of the NFL's most ingenious offensive coaches — Sean Payton, Mike Shanahan and Jason Garrett.

Payton and Shanahan were head coaches. Garrett will try to become one today when he interviews for the Broncos' head coaching job at Dove Valley.
"He was like a head coach without being the head coach," Holland said of Garrett, the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator. "I think he has the swagger of a head coach. He'd be a big get for you, if they pull the trigger."
Holland is an offensive guard who played for Payton's New Orleans Saints in 2006, when Payton was named the NFL's coach of the year. Signed by the Broncos after that season, Holland started all 16 games for Shanahan in 2007, but he got beat out in 2008 after reporting to training camp overweight.

Holland was dealt during the preseason to the Cowboys, for whom he played in seven games and started the final two. Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler has said he wants his team to retain position coach Jeremy Bates. But Holland believes Cutler could benefit from having Garrett as his head coach.

"Cutler's a great player," Holland said. "But the way Jason attacks the game — he's very aggressive — I think Cutler will like him. I think the offensive line will like him, also."

Garrett, 42, turned down head coaching offers from Baltimore and Atlanta last year to return as a $3 million coordinator for Dallas. Holland believes the experience of dealing with the distracting controversy of combustible receiver Terrell Owens accusing quarterback Tony Romo of favoring Jason Witten should help, not hinder, Garrett's candidacy.

"Jason let them be men and talk it out," Holland said. "He went up to them and said, 'What's going on? What can we do to get past this so we can get back to football?' He's a communicator. He listens to the players when the players come off the field."

Broncos to interview Frazier.

Add Leslie Frazier to the Broncos' short list of head coaching candidates. Frazier, the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, will interview Wednesday at Dove Valley.

A star cornerback on the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl winning team of 1985, Frazier, 49, was Cincinnati's defensive coordinator from 2003-04 when the Bengals combined for 60 takeaways. The Vikings' sixth-ranked defense this year had 25 takeaways, nearly double the Broncos' league-worst total of 13.
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com

 

[Hostile]

Or do they and you are speculating they don't?

No one wants to lose a promising young coach. But if that departure means change is necessary across the board, wouldn't that mean they are not up in arms about it?

This is an interview where Norm Hitzges asked Jerry Jones this direct question.

http://www.dallascowboys.com/multimedia/multimedia_center.cfm?id=8959FED1-0211-3E79-690FD7721269F033

I wasn't speculating.

 

[ddh33]

I've been pretty lenient with both Wade and Garrett. I think it's hard to keep the circus in any kind of order around here...

But what worries me is that these players might have already tuned out Wade and Garrett. Holland just gave me a little hope though. But I think Jerry has tied the hands of his coaches a little bit. If the Cowboys want results, those guys need to be able to do their jobs.

 

[Monster Heel]

I hope the Eagles are stupid enough to give McNabb a new deal.

It may not be stupidity, but necessity. Have you seen how flat out awful the golden boy Kolb looked in just limited reps?

 

[jobberone]

My guess is they don't want to lose Garrett when that's what they're saying. But I don't listen to what they say with it being a certainty.

 

[sonnyboy]

Not sure where I stand on Garrett just now.

Was excited about his hire. Loved the job he did in 2007. But I now have the feeling he may have needed/leaned on Sparano last year.

Is the departure of Sparano a credible reason for our offensive fall-off?

Either way, I don't want to lose Garrett. I'm sick and tired of losing good young coaches after seasons in which we don't even win one stinking playoff game. (Payton 2005)

What's up with that? You use to accept a coaching loss or two when your team succeeded. I'm talking SB win or at least a Championship game loss.

Losing Peyton after 2005 still burns me up. We didn't even make the ****** playoffs that year.

Peyton was a big Romo supporter. I still believe he'd have convinced Parcells to start the year with Tony.
They may have made a significant difference in how 2006 played out.

 

[silver]

For what it is worth, here are some comments from Montrae Holland:

Garrett banking on an aggressive style

Cowboys give coordinator high marks
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Posted: 01/06/2009 12:30:00 AM MST


In the past three seasons, Montrae Holland has played for three of the NFL's most ingenious offensive coaches — Sean Payton, Mike Shanahan and Jason Garrett.

Payton and Shanahan were head coaches. Garrett will try to become one today when he interviews for the Broncos' head coaching job at Dove Valley.
"He was like a head coach without being the head coach," Holland said of Garrett, the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator. "I think he has the swagger of a head coach. He'd be a big get for you, if they pull the trigger."
Holland is an offensive guard who played for Payton's New Orleans Saints in 2006, when Payton was named the NFL's coach of the year. Signed by the Broncos after that season, Holland started all 16 games for Shanahan in 2007, but he got beat out in 2008 after reporting to training camp overweight.

Holland was dealt during the preseason to the Cowboys, for whom he played in seven games and started the final two. Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler has said he wants his team to retain position coach Jeremy Bates. But Holland believes Cutler could benefit from having Garrett as his head coach.

"Cutler's a great player," Holland said. "But the way Jason attacks the game — he's very aggressive — I think Cutler will like him. I think the offensive line will like him, also."

Garrett, 42, turned down head coaching offers from Baltimore and Atlanta last year to return as a $3 million coordinator for Dallas. Holland believes the experience of dealing with the distracting controversy of combustible receiver Terrell Owens accusing quarterback Tony Romo of favoring Jason Witten should help, not hinder, Garrett's candidacy.

"Jason let them be men and talk it out," Holland said. "He went up to them and said, 'What's going on? What can we do to get past this so we can get back to football?' He's a communicator. He listens to the players when the players come off the field."

Broncos to interview Frazier.

Add Leslie Frazier to the Broncos' short list of head coaching candidates. Frazier, the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, will interview Wednesday at Dove Valley.

A star cornerback on the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl winning team of 1985, Frazier, 49, was Cincinnati's defensive coordinator from 2003-04 when the Bengals combined for 60 takeaways. The Vikings' sixth-ranked defense this year had 25 takeaways, nearly double the Broncos' league-worst total of 13.
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com

Great post Alexander.

I'm torn on Garrett. For one he was the HC in waiting and appeared to be an up and coming young guy last year and some portions of this year. Then he went a little bit gun shy with all the injuries on offense and with so many turnovers. He got a bit scared at the end (IMHO of course). But facing top defenses in his last 4 games, two of them on the road with inclement weather, can do that to you. Not having your starting RB and having to rely on a rookie will also cause you be more conservative. As good as choice was he was a rookie and had his share of rookie mistakes. So having said all that, I’m still torn on Garrett. I don’t know if we should let him just walk and become the next Sean Payton or at least the next Norv Turner or we should let Jerry give it one more try with the status quo and hope nobody gets hurt next year and wait to make a move until next year.