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A Work in Progress
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I've been a pretty strong Garrett defender during his time with the Cowboys. I was friends with John Garrett when we both lived in Cincinnati. I'm sentimental over having a former Cowboy from a tremendous era being the coach of my team. I wanted to believe that all he needed was time, and his types of players.
But lately I find myself migrating over to the other side. After last night, I think I've crossed over. I know there are a ton of injuries. I know he's hamstrung (maybe not the best choice of words) by his owner/GM. I like how he seems to get guys to buy into his system and play hard.
However, I'm tired of seeing him be (at least in my very amateur opinion) grossly outcoached. Whatever we're doing, it's not working. Yes, we're in first place in our division. So what? It's a lousy division. I know all the games we've lost this year are to teams with winning records (except SD, and they're not a bad team). So what? We need to beat some of those teams, instead of either coming just short, getting solidly beat, or getting flat blown out.
I'm not one that supports change just for the sake of change. I'm also not one to keep doing what isn't working. The question is, what's the right change? What's the solution? You can say "fire Garrett, Kiffin, etc." Okay, fine. Then what? Get Gruden. Get Holmgren. Get David Shaw. Get Kevin Sumlin. Get Cowher. Get Tomlin. The list goes on and on. But will any of those guys really improve things? TB fans couldn't wait to get rid of Gruden, thinking that he only won with Dungy's players, couldn't figure out his QB situation, and eventually lost the team. Holmgren is old, and will want a level of control (and money) that I can't see Jerry giving him. Sure, he's said that he might be interested in coaching Dallas (at least, I think he said it), but throwing out the word "Dallas" seems to be the ultimate negotiating ploy right now. Same with Cowher. And I'm not sure just how much those guys really want to coach again. Shaw? Sumlin? Great college coaches. Will that translate to the pros? It has with Carroll, Harbaugh, and Jimmy, but the list of failures is much longer. Tomlin? What has he done/would he do without Lebeau and Arians? Even with Lebeau still around (and doing pretty well, despite being as old as Kiffin), they haven't been all that great the last two years.
Some say change assistants, or who gets to do what. Take the playcalling from Garrett and give it to Callahan. Has that improved anything? Doesn't seem like it. Get rid of Ryan. I was never a fan, but you have to like what he's doing in NO. Sure, he's getting more help from his offense, but there's got to be more to it than that. If he's doing so great now, where was that the last couple of years when he was here? Sure, we had injuries last year, but we weren't that great before that. And that doesn't excuse some of his sideline behavior, or that he was (supposedly) missing meetings toward the end of last year.
People say we need to scrap one scheme for another, whether it be offense or defense. Change to the 4-3. Stick with the 3-4. Do more man. Do more zone. Run the ball more. West Coast Offense. 2 TE offense. Blah blah blah. Scheme is important, but without the right players, no scheme will be successful.
So then, some say we need different players. More leaders. Fewer nice guys. Guys that don't get hurt all the time (as if that can be controlled). Guys that aren't idiots that get commit repeated penalties or get in trouble off the field.
Some question the training staff. Or the strength and conditioning coaches.
Seems like there are so many things that need to change, that it's tough to know where to start, and it's too simplistic to champion one aspect, like the head coach, or the defensive scheme. The one thing I seem to keep coming back to is the man in charge. Jerry has led an organization that is the epitome of mediocrity for almost two decades. There is still something wrong with the culture at Valley Ranch, and until it changes, I don't see things getting better. We can change coaches, players, schemes, etc. all we want, but what will that do? It's not like changing the deck chairs on the Titanic. It's like changing the crew as well, but the same guy is still driving the boat.
But of course, that part of the equation is not changing. So I ask, what other options will give us a legitimate chance of getting back to being great, in spite of the man in charge?
But lately I find myself migrating over to the other side. After last night, I think I've crossed over. I know there are a ton of injuries. I know he's hamstrung (maybe not the best choice of words) by his owner/GM. I like how he seems to get guys to buy into his system and play hard.
However, I'm tired of seeing him be (at least in my very amateur opinion) grossly outcoached. Whatever we're doing, it's not working. Yes, we're in first place in our division. So what? It's a lousy division. I know all the games we've lost this year are to teams with winning records (except SD, and they're not a bad team). So what? We need to beat some of those teams, instead of either coming just short, getting solidly beat, or getting flat blown out.
I'm not one that supports change just for the sake of change. I'm also not one to keep doing what isn't working. The question is, what's the right change? What's the solution? You can say "fire Garrett, Kiffin, etc." Okay, fine. Then what? Get Gruden. Get Holmgren. Get David Shaw. Get Kevin Sumlin. Get Cowher. Get Tomlin. The list goes on and on. But will any of those guys really improve things? TB fans couldn't wait to get rid of Gruden, thinking that he only won with Dungy's players, couldn't figure out his QB situation, and eventually lost the team. Holmgren is old, and will want a level of control (and money) that I can't see Jerry giving him. Sure, he's said that he might be interested in coaching Dallas (at least, I think he said it), but throwing out the word "Dallas" seems to be the ultimate negotiating ploy right now. Same with Cowher. And I'm not sure just how much those guys really want to coach again. Shaw? Sumlin? Great college coaches. Will that translate to the pros? It has with Carroll, Harbaugh, and Jimmy, but the list of failures is much longer. Tomlin? What has he done/would he do without Lebeau and Arians? Even with Lebeau still around (and doing pretty well, despite being as old as Kiffin), they haven't been all that great the last two years.
Some say change assistants, or who gets to do what. Take the playcalling from Garrett and give it to Callahan. Has that improved anything? Doesn't seem like it. Get rid of Ryan. I was never a fan, but you have to like what he's doing in NO. Sure, he's getting more help from his offense, but there's got to be more to it than that. If he's doing so great now, where was that the last couple of years when he was here? Sure, we had injuries last year, but we weren't that great before that. And that doesn't excuse some of his sideline behavior, or that he was (supposedly) missing meetings toward the end of last year.
People say we need to scrap one scheme for another, whether it be offense or defense. Change to the 4-3. Stick with the 3-4. Do more man. Do more zone. Run the ball more. West Coast Offense. 2 TE offense. Blah blah blah. Scheme is important, but without the right players, no scheme will be successful.
So then, some say we need different players. More leaders. Fewer nice guys. Guys that don't get hurt all the time (as if that can be controlled). Guys that aren't idiots that get commit repeated penalties or get in trouble off the field.
Some question the training staff. Or the strength and conditioning coaches.
Seems like there are so many things that need to change, that it's tough to know where to start, and it's too simplistic to champion one aspect, like the head coach, or the defensive scheme. The one thing I seem to keep coming back to is the man in charge. Jerry has led an organization that is the epitome of mediocrity for almost two decades. There is still something wrong with the culture at Valley Ranch, and until it changes, I don't see things getting better. We can change coaches, players, schemes, etc. all we want, but what will that do? It's not like changing the deck chairs on the Titanic. It's like changing the crew as well, but the same guy is still driving the boat.
But of course, that part of the equation is not changing. So I ask, what other options will give us a legitimate chance of getting back to being great, in spite of the man in charge?
