Garrett Watch Thread...

[Cotton]

We have a lot of talk around the board concerning Garrett and his future with this team, so I thought we could just bring all of that into one thread. The words in the quote below "we can all sit down and take a look at things at the end of the year" is pretty telling to me.

 

[mcnuttz]

Who would be re-hired somewhere else the quickest, Jerry as GM or Jason as HC?

Only in Dallas.

 

[Cotton]

 

[Cotton]

Who would be re-hired somewhere else the quickest, Jerry as GM or Jason as HC?

Only in Dallas.

That's a damn good question.

 

[Rev]

Its going to be a long season.

 

[Rev]

How much do you think we have to lose by on Up Sunday to get a rage fire?

 

[jsmith6919]

 

[p1_]

Its going to be a long season.

It’s close to the midpoint already. Those 3 losses are like dog years

 

[boozeman]

Jerry says put a sock in it, haters.

 

[Cotton]

 

[p1_]

Jerry says put a sock in it, haters.

Didn’t he say same re: Campo?

 

[bbgun]

He's still in his office.

 

[Cotton]

 

[Cotton]

[h=1]Garrett's record vs winning teams betrays Jones' 'top coach' comment[/h]

By: Tony Thompson | 56 minutes ago

The Cowboys lost to an 0-4 Jets team on Sunday, a team they were supposed to dominate. For those hoping Dallas head coach Jason Garrett would be shown the door in short order, they shouldn’t be holding their breath. It’s more than likely not happening in the middle of the 2019 NFL season, no matter how dire things get. Whether or not it will happen whenever this campaign comes to an end is another question, however.

The prevailing line of thought heading into the year was if the Cowboys failed to reach the NFC Championship game, something not seen around Dallas in more than two decades, Garrett would most certainly be on his way out. There’s only one man’s opinion that matters when it comes to who’s at the helm, and that would be Jerry Jones, owner and general manager of the most valuable franchise in the world.

On Tuesday morning Jones made an appearance on 105.3 The Fan and what he said will have fans shaking their heads harder than a hood ornament.

“I have felt that we got a lot invested in Jason Garrett. He’s had a lot of years that he’s been a part of the Cowboys and he evolved into what, I think, is a top coach. He would be a very sought after coach if he were out here in the open market. So, there’s a lot of pluses there.
He brings a lot to the table and I can genuinely say that that is not a thought that I am having. So, it would be unfair to our fans for me to have any indication about what I may think the future is as far as head coach. Everybody is aware that we’re on the last year of his agreement. But that really just means that we can all sit down and take a look at things at the end of the year. That was the case when he won the first three ballgames, and still the case today after losing the last three.”

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Garrett is not the worst head coach in the league. He has his strengths, largely having a heavy hand in building a competent roster. But a top coach? If that feels like a stretch it’s because it is. Head coaches are going to be judged by their ability to win big games, despite the malaise Sunday’s defeat to the winless Jets has put fans in.

Defining what’s a big game is subjective, but for the purposes of this piece, beating teams with a winning record would be a good place to start. Upon examination, Garrett is not passing the test.

Using Pro Football Reference’s Team Finder to suss out each active head coach’s record against winning teams at season’s end in either the regular season or playoffs reveals a cold, hard fact. Against good teams, Garrett has been mediocre at best.

Here’s a list of all active coaches with at least one year of experience through the end of the last complete season, 2018.

Team	Coach	Years Active	Record vs Winning Teams	Win %
New England Patriots	Bill Belichick	2000-2019	107-63	0.629
Los Angeles Rams	Sean McVay	2017-2019	14-10	0.583
Chicago Bears	Matt Nagy	2018-2019	5-4	0.556
Indianapolis Colts	Frank Reich	2018-2019	6-5	0.545
Pittsburgh Steelers	Mike Tomlin	2007-2019	51-46	0.526
Seattle Seahawks	Pete Carroll	2010-2019	38-38	0.500
Philadelphia Eagles	Doug Pederson	2016-2019	16-17	0.485
New Orelans Saints	Sean Payton	2006-2019	48-52	0.480
Kansas City Chiefs	Andy Reid	2013-2019	25-31	0.446
Los Angeles Chargers	Anthony Lynn	2017-2019	8-10	0.444
Atlanta Falcons	Dan Quinn	2015-2019	15-21	0.417
Baltimore Ravens	John Harbaugh	2008-2019	38-57	0.400
Carolina Panthers	Ron Rivera	2011-2019	25-39-1	0.392
Dallas Cowboys	Jason Garrett	2010-2019	25-43	0.367
Tennessee Titans	Mike Vrabel	2018-2019	4-7	0.364
Minnesota Vikings	Mike Zimmer	2014-2019	14-28	0.333
Jacksonville Jaguars	Doug Marrone	2017-2019	8-17	0.320
Houston Texans	Bill O’Brien	2014-2019	13-32	0.289
San Francisco 49ers	Kyle Shanahan	2017-2019	4-13	0.235
Oakland Raiders	Jon Gruden	2018-2019	3-10	0.231
Buffalo Bills	Sean McDermott	2017-2019	4-14	0.222
New York Giants	Pat Shurmur	2018-2019	2-10	0.167
Detroit Lions	Matt Patricia	2018-2019	1-9	0.100

Garrett shows up at No. 14 on a list of only 23 teams. To be fair to Jones’ comment, he did say Garrett has evolved into one of the top coaches, not that he has always been one.

With that in mind, let’s try to parse when that may have happened. Start by discounting 2010 when he replaced former head coach Wade Phillips in a lost season, and then to be even more kind, leave off the three subsequent meme solidifying 8-8 years that followed, and look at only 2014 and beyond.

His record against winning teams since just 2014 is 18-24, good for a .429 winning percentage which would still leaves him outside the top 10. Apologists will point to the injury to former quarterback Tony Romo in 2015, but it’s no excuse.

There are great coaches who have overcome such strenuous circumstances, and those opportunities have increased the luster of those men.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, for example, went 11-5 with Matt Cassel playing quarterback in lieu of Tom Brady. Sean Payton, head coach of the New Orleans Saints has won four games in a row with Teddy Bridgewater in place of sure fire Hall of Famer Drew Brees.

No matter how it’s cut, Garrett has trouble winning the games that matter most. The kind of wins that define great teams have largely eluded him. So far he’s been able to escape the chopping block by handling the “gimmes”, but if losses like the one last Sunday against the New York Jets keep happening, Jones might resolve himself to finding a new head coach.

 

[midswat]

It’s comments like in the OP that ultimately made me despise the franchise. Started with his smug indifferent wink/grinning that the team benefited with him at GM when McMahon was grilling Jerry after an embarrassing loss to Atlanta circa 2012 or so.

I used to live and die by this team. Spent countless money on gear, multiple flights from VA to Texas to watch them, or drive up to Fedex. I was a die hard. And this prick shits on his fans.

To make matters worse, the more that was revealed about Stephen, the more it became clear that things would not change once Jerry finally dies. The jones family, their egos, and their misguided priorities has turned a once proud franchise into a joke like Cincinatti, or the Jets.

I hope they extend Jason for 10 more years.

 

[yimyammer]

Jerry says put a sock in it, haters.

He's a psychopath, I'm convinced jeri hates the fans and takes pleasure in sticking it to everyone who doubts his ability to "GM"

He would have made a helluva serial killer if that business thing hadn't worked out

 

[yimyammer]

Started with his smug indifferent wink/grinning that the team benefited with him at GM when McMahon was grilling Jerry after an embarrassing loss to Atlanta circa 2012 or so.

for those who didn't see the interview:

 

[p1_]

 

[Cotton]

[h=1]If the Cowboys want to make the playoffs, Jason Garrett will have to find a way to overcome a fatal flaw[/h] [h=2]Dallas it at a crossroads, and the season may now be riding on its head coach.[/h]

Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett looks up toward the scoreboard during the second half of play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, September 8, 2019. Dallas Cowboys defeated the New York Giants 35-17 in the home opener.(Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)
By Jean-Jacques Taylor

12:06 PM on Oct 15, 2019
FRISCO -- Jerry Jones, the Cowboys’ owner, and his son, Stephen Jones, have no desire to fire Jason Garrett.

That’s why he’s going to be given every opportunity to succeed this season.

Besides, since 1960 only two of 87 interim coaches have guided their teams to the playoffs.

So the prospect of firing Garrett and making passing game defensive coordinator and secondary coach Kris Richard or offensive play-caller Kellen Moore -- neither of whom has ever been a head coach -- the man in charge in the midst of a season gone awry doesn’t seem like a good idea.

My suspicion is Garrett is going to get all 16 games this season to prove he deserves a new contract.

After all, he’s been here nine-plus seasons, won three NFC East titles, a couple of playoff games and a Coach of the Year award. Plus, he has a long history with the Joneses.

That said, if Garrett doesn’t figure out how to coach this team through its assortment of injuries, starting Sunday night against Philadelphia at AT&T Stadium, then this season is going to fall apart - and it will be his last.

There’s no tangible evidence he can do it.

In 2015, when quarterback Tony Romo broke his collarbone the Cowboys finished 4-12. In 2017, when Ezekiel Elliott was serving a six-game suspension and left tackle Tyron Smith was hampered with a back injury, the Cowboys lost the first three games of Elliott’s suspension by a total of 92-22, and it played a role in Dallas missing the playoffs.

Remember how this defense used to fall apart every time linebacker Sean Lee missed a game?

Then there’s Sunday’s disaster.

The hapless New York Jets, 0-4 before Sunday, beat the Cowboys, who started the game without starting tackles Tyron Smith and La’El Collins and receiver Randall Cobb.

Then the Cowboys lost star receiver Amari Cooper on the first series and cornerbacks Anthony Brown and Byron Jones in the second half.

Sorry, that’s not an excuse in today’s NFL. Injuries happen to key players on every team.

The best coaches find ways to win.

San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan beat the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday without starting tackles Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey, a pair of former first-round picks. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin won with a third-string quarterback, a dude named Duck (Devlin Hodges), who started his first NFL game.

New Orleans coach Sean Payton is 4-0 without future Hall of Famer Drew Brees and Carolina is 4-0 with Kyle Allen as former MVP Cam Newton recovers from a foot injury.

Now, Garrett’s job depends on figuring out how to win in less-than-ideal circumstances like other coaches.

Garrett struggles in those situations because he’s a planner. His strength is long-term decision making. When he has to work through short-term problems, his flaws show.

If he can’t fix that flaw, then he won’t be here next year because Cowboys won’t win enough games.

Garrett’s in the final year of a six-year, $30 million contract because Jerry and Stephen Jones want to see the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game for the first time since the 1995 season.

Frankly, making the playoffs seems like a long shot today. Then again, the Cowboys were 3-5 last season before winning seven of their last eight games to win the NFC East.

Lose Sunday against Philadelphia at AT&T Stadium, and Garrett’s team will have difficulty just making the playoffs.

Eight NFC teams already have fewer losses than the Cowboys.

That number will grow if they lose against Philadelphia. It’s highly unlikely the NFC East’s second-place team makes the playoffs.

To keep his job Garrett must do something he’s rarely, if ever, done.

 

[Cotton]