I believe from their perspective (and
especially from Jerry Jones' perspective) that it is neither arrogance nor blind loyalty. I could be 100% incorrect but I think they see Garrett as a gamble that paid off because Garrett has lead the team to the playoffs as their head coach. That is their self-justification in my opinion. Simply put, I hypothesize they (again the elder Jones in particular) conceive a quality head coach delivers a team that will contend in the playoffs if given what they deem is 'enough time' to accomplish the feat.
Here is where I see Garrett differing from Chan Gailey, Dave Campo and Wade Phillips in their eyes:
- Gailey barely coached the team to two wild card playoff appearances, losing both with sequentially poor regular season results. Jerry Jones still believed he had the tail end of a Super Bowl contending team, so he afforded Gailey zero time to re-shape the roster and overall scheme into one which might reverse two years of underperformance.
- Campo was given three years, which Jones attempted to supplement with measures like using two first-round picks for Joey Galloway and a high round pick for Quincy Carter. Jones proceeded to see the team wallow with Aikman's retirement and Galloway's injury but assumed incorrectly Carter would be a long-term solution and asset that would reverse sub-.500 performance given time. However, three consecutive losing seasons was long enough for Jones' patience to wear out.
- Phillips was situated in the exact (or better) conditions Garrett currently owns. Multiple plus-.500 performance and playoff appearances. I believe Jones extended Phillips 100% security until the 45-7 Green Bay fiasco when the team performed rudderless. Jones saw Phillips utterly lose the roster's confidence and that a lame duck head coach would be ineffective anyway.
From Garrett, Jones has seen (not counting 2010 since he likely wrote that season off as a dud) three straight
non-losing seasons followed by 4 of 5 plus-.500 seasons that included three playoff appearances. Jones probably wrote off 2015 as a fluke due to Romo's injury. Garrett has not produced consecutive losing seasons, lost the roster's loyalty or underachieved with a 'proven' (e.g. recently won a championship) Super Bowl-caliber team. I sincerely believe within Jones' head and possibly inside his son's head are the qualifications of a quality head coach.
I am not saying they are the correct or logical qualifications for keeping a head coach employed. I am saying they are the qualifications that support their own 'football savvy' logic for retaining Garrett.