So Jerry coming out saying he wants Garrett to be involved with the defense this year means nothing to you then? And do you believe it was Garrett's decision to hire Rob? fire Rob? then to hire Kiffin and switch schemes? then to reassign Kiffin and promote Marinelli?
LOL at Jerry "occasionally putting his foot down."
We're all just supposing here, but just for fun, I think Garrett probably wants control of the offense when it comes to calling the plays, and it's Jerry that wanted him freed up from that responsibility. I think Rob Ryan was 100% Garrett's idea. I don't think Jerry liked him, personally. At whatever point that became an issue (I imagine it was after he signed Carr to a big deal and the defense then sustained injuries and didn't deliver, but I think Jerry probably just didn't like Rob's sloppy public demeanor), either Jerry put his foot down that he wanted a DC change, or he made it clear how he felt and JG realized it was going to end up being dysfunctional to keep him. I think Garrett did like Rob, though, and it might explain the Saints hiring him afterward, since the two organizations are relatively close and would definitely share their experiences with a DC who had been let go.
I think Kiffin was a weird hire, as I said, but I'd guess that that was a combination of Jerry and Lacewell's old boys' network liking the guy and Garrett signing off on the change once Rob was gone because of his history with him at Tampa Bay. The Marinelli promotion was also weird, because Kiffin and Marinelli were a matched set. This makes it seem likely to me that this was either planned in advance, or agreed upon by the parties when Lovie's interest in Rod was reported.
I think we've dithered much more than we should have under Garrett. I think much of the dithering was probably Jones-related. I think, generally, the coach gets his way in terms of what we do tactically and who we add to the team. I think Frederick was an obvious exception to that rule because I think Jerry Jones was committed to getting an interior blocker for Tony Romo and might even have promised to do so if at all possible in the contract negotiations that offseason.
All of this, is, of course, completely pulled out of nowhere. If any of it's accurate, it shows a fairly dysfunctional picture. I do think it's Garrett's influence on the draft process that has juggled around some of our resources and improved both college and pro scouting recently. I think we're managing the cap smarter overall right now, and I don't think that's a natural Jones impulse. I think Jason still loses more fights than he wins with Jerry, and is constantly managing upward, and he's not successful enough at that. But I also think that's going to be the case with any head coach we have. Literally. But it's the fact that I think Jason as the right temperament for doing so successfully over the long haul that I'm willing to overlook the game management snafus and some of the mistakes he's made. It's also why I think Jerry's happier with his current arrangement than most fans want to believe. I think we massively overestimate how much 'fan disapproval' means to Jerry Jones. As long as the Cowboys are relevant, it means literally nothing. I think he wants to win it his way, and he's got a guy he thinks he can do it with in place, and I'll be surprised if he doesn't double down on Garrett even with a relatively bad season (assuming we don't absolutely tank).
