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Calling new staff roles 'clean structure' makes Jason Garrett seem delusional or dishonest
As dance partners, Jones and Garrett are way out of step
DAVID MOORE
Staff Writer
dmoore@dallasnews.com
Published: 29 January 2014 11:06 PM
NEW YORK — In an attempt to explain these puzzling days at Valley Ranch, let’s use a visualization technique.
Imagine Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett locked in a tango. The two men try so hard not to step on each other’s toes that the dance deteriorates into a confusing mess with no flair or sense of focus.
Does that accurately describe the state of the Cowboys?
Jones desperately wants Garrett to be his Tom Landry. Garrett wants to remain the Cowboys' head coach. That baseline has led both men to compromise in ways that aren’t particularly flattering to them or healthy for the franchise.
Scott Linehan has been added as the team’s passing game coordinator. He will call the plays. Bill Callahan remains the offensive coordinator but will no longer call the plays. Garrett, the man who called plays for six years before grudgingly turning those duties over to Callahan, oversees both men.
Garrett calls this a “clean structure,” a statement that makes him appear delusional, dishonest or insulting. None of those options plays well in public.
Now it’s time for a quick quiz.
Garrett assembled his first staff as head coach in 2011. Only two position coaches remain in place three years later. Name them?
Quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson and linebackers coach Matt Eberflus.
Linehan is the 12th assistant coach hired by the Cowboys in the last two years. The team enters 2014 with its third different offensive play-caller and third different defensive play-caller in three seasons. Cleveland is the only other franchise to make that claim.
Feel better?
Aside from recurring time-management issues in games, Garrett receives high marks for how he manages the players. He has them prepared and keeps them on point. His message resonates. This is a resilient bunch that has given no indication that it is shutting down on their head coach.
Managing his staff is another matter. A coach who constantly harps about the importance of continuity and the process can’t ignore those principals with those who work closest with him.
Is the high turnover all on his shoulders? No. Jones was clearly the driving force to remove play calling from Garrett’s plate and switch defensive coordinators and schemes one year ago.
But Garrett is complicit. Did he forcefully fight to keep Rob Ryan and the 3-4 scheme in place or did concern for his own job security mute his opposition? Once he lost the fight on calling plays did his insecurity drive him to resist hiring someone outside the organization? Remember, it was Garrett the play-caller who took over for Wade Phillips.
Callahan wound up as the compromise choice. Let’s explore his treatment.
He did not lobby for the position. There were no backroom machinations. Jones and Garrett approached him.
Callahan’s charge: Add creativity that Jones felt was missing from the offense while working under a head coach who was stripped of his play-calling identity. The only conviction Garrett had about the move was that he would lose his job if he didn’t comply.
Callahan didn’t fail as a play-caller. He was never put in a position to succeed. His reward for handling this untenable position is a public demotion while the team blocks his ability to move to another team.
Jay Ratliff received better treatment from the Cowboys, and he wasn’t nearly as loyal or professional as Callahan.
Garrett is asserting himself in the final year of his contract. Linehan is clearly Garrett’s hire. While he likes and respects Monte Kiffin, he has to be more comfortable with Rod Marinelli’s recent track record as a defensive coordinator in this league.
If this works, the awkward dance between Jones and Garrett may finally end. If it doesn’t work, well, it will end anyway, and the owner will find a new dance partner.
This is their last tango.
Keeping track
Only two position coaches remain from Jason Garrett’s initial staff of three years ago. What the staff looks like at the moment.
OFFENSE
Bill Callahan
offensive coordinator/offensive line
Scott Linehan
passing game coordinator
*Wade Wilson
quarterbacks
Gary Brown
running backs
Derek Dooley
wide receivers
Mike Pope
tight ends
Frank Pollack
assistant offensive line
DEFENSE
Monte Kiffin
assistant head coach/defense
Rod Marinelli
defensive coordinator/defensive line
*Matt Eberflus
linebackers
Jerome Henderson
secondary
Joe Baker
assistant secondary
Leon Lett
defensive assistant/defensive line
Rich Bisaccia
special teams coordinator
*position coaches who were on Garrett’s initial staff in 2011
As dance partners, Jones and Garrett are way out of step
DAVID MOORE
Staff Writer
dmoore@dallasnews.com
Published: 29 January 2014 11:06 PM
NEW YORK — In an attempt to explain these puzzling days at Valley Ranch, let’s use a visualization technique.
Imagine Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett locked in a tango. The two men try so hard not to step on each other’s toes that the dance deteriorates into a confusing mess with no flair or sense of focus.
Does that accurately describe the state of the Cowboys?
Jones desperately wants Garrett to be his Tom Landry. Garrett wants to remain the Cowboys' head coach. That baseline has led both men to compromise in ways that aren’t particularly flattering to them or healthy for the franchise.
Scott Linehan has been added as the team’s passing game coordinator. He will call the plays. Bill Callahan remains the offensive coordinator but will no longer call the plays. Garrett, the man who called plays for six years before grudgingly turning those duties over to Callahan, oversees both men.
Garrett calls this a “clean structure,” a statement that makes him appear delusional, dishonest or insulting. None of those options plays well in public.
Now it’s time for a quick quiz.
Garrett assembled his first staff as head coach in 2011. Only two position coaches remain in place three years later. Name them?
Quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson and linebackers coach Matt Eberflus.
Linehan is the 12th assistant coach hired by the Cowboys in the last two years. The team enters 2014 with its third different offensive play-caller and third different defensive play-caller in three seasons. Cleveland is the only other franchise to make that claim.
Feel better?
Aside from recurring time-management issues in games, Garrett receives high marks for how he manages the players. He has them prepared and keeps them on point. His message resonates. This is a resilient bunch that has given no indication that it is shutting down on their head coach.
Managing his staff is another matter. A coach who constantly harps about the importance of continuity and the process can’t ignore those principals with those who work closest with him.
Is the high turnover all on his shoulders? No. Jones was clearly the driving force to remove play calling from Garrett’s plate and switch defensive coordinators and schemes one year ago.
But Garrett is complicit. Did he forcefully fight to keep Rob Ryan and the 3-4 scheme in place or did concern for his own job security mute his opposition? Once he lost the fight on calling plays did his insecurity drive him to resist hiring someone outside the organization? Remember, it was Garrett the play-caller who took over for Wade Phillips.
Callahan wound up as the compromise choice. Let’s explore his treatment.
He did not lobby for the position. There were no backroom machinations. Jones and Garrett approached him.
Callahan’s charge: Add creativity that Jones felt was missing from the offense while working under a head coach who was stripped of his play-calling identity. The only conviction Garrett had about the move was that he would lose his job if he didn’t comply.
Callahan didn’t fail as a play-caller. He was never put in a position to succeed. His reward for handling this untenable position is a public demotion while the team blocks his ability to move to another team.
Jay Ratliff received better treatment from the Cowboys, and he wasn’t nearly as loyal or professional as Callahan.
Garrett is asserting himself in the final year of his contract. Linehan is clearly Garrett’s hire. While he likes and respects Monte Kiffin, he has to be more comfortable with Rod Marinelli’s recent track record as a defensive coordinator in this league.
If this works, the awkward dance between Jones and Garrett may finally end. If it doesn’t work, well, it will end anyway, and the owner will find a new dance partner.
This is their last tango.
Keeping track
Only two position coaches remain from Jason Garrett’s initial staff of three years ago. What the staff looks like at the moment.
OFFENSE
Bill Callahan
offensive coordinator/offensive line
Scott Linehan
passing game coordinator
*Wade Wilson
quarterbacks
Gary Brown
running backs
Derek Dooley
wide receivers
Mike Pope
tight ends
Frank Pollack
assistant offensive line
DEFENSE
Monte Kiffin
assistant head coach/defense
Rod Marinelli
defensive coordinator/defensive line
*Matt Eberflus
linebackers
Jerome Henderson
secondary
Joe Baker
assistant secondary
Leon Lett
defensive assistant/defensive line
Rich Bisaccia
special teams coordinator
*position coaches who were on Garrett’s initial staff in 2011
