Dallas Cowboys: Time to Assess Jason Garrett as Head Coach
By Erik Lambert
Jerry Jones has proven one thing as Dallas Cowboys owner. Unlike his earlier years when he had no fear of change, he’s proven he can be patient.
He stuck by Tony Romo for years when people were screaming for the team to make a change at quarterback. By that same token Jones has remained steadfast in his support of head coach Jason Garrett. It’s understandable to a degree. Garrett took full control of the team in 2011 and since then has only produced one losing season in that time. That is what continues to create some good will for him, but how long before that runs out.
After all there is another side to the story. Though Garrett has just one losing season in seven years, he also has just one playoff win. To date he’s yet to make it to even an NFC championship game, let alone a Super Bowl. Expectations were high for this team going into this season but have since ended in frustration, losing their playoffs hopes in a loss to Seattle. Among the blame for this falls at the feet of Garrett and his inability to get the offense on track.
Garrett has underachieved in a result-based business
It’s hard to figure out where things have gone wrong for the Cowboys offense. Suddenly though a unit that ranked 5th in the NFL last season is 15th this year. Losing running back Ezekiel Elliott to a six-game suspension didn’t help matters. On the other hand it’s hard to describe how much less effective quarterback Dak Prescott has been after his stellar rookie season. Given Garrett’s expertise is QB, that’s hard to ignore.
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Last but not least is the defense. In his entire tenure the Cowboys have never had a unit ranked higher than 14th in total defense. It’s really hard to win big games in the NFL when that’s the reality. It always seems like this team has a fatal flaw they can’t cover up when the games become their most important. Garrett, as head coach, bears responsibility for this reality. He hasn’t done badly, but he also hasn’t done enough.
Is it about time for Jones and the Cowboys to seek out somebody who might do more?