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Finally, Garrett's culture bears fruit
After years of grinding, Cowboys have translated coach's mantras into a steady 6-1
Updated: October 24, 2014, 1:22 AM ET
By Jean-Jacques Taylor | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- Admit it: You roll your eyes every time coach Jason Garrett starts talking about taking an unemotional look at the Dallas Cowboys' previous game, building on the good stuff and correcting the stuff that wasn't so good.
And you probably scoff whenever Garrett starts talking about stacking good days together, and having a good walk-through followed by a good meeting followed by a good practice, because that positions the Cowboys to play their best football on Sunday.
Garrett's rhetoric is monotonous, for sure, but it's designed to create a culture that allows his team to handle the highs of success just as well as it deals with the despair of defeat.
Since he became coach halfway through the 2010 season, Garrett has always emphasized focusing on the here and now -- not yesterday, not tomorrow -- and the aspects of preparation each individual player can control.
None of Garrett's mantras seemed to matter all that much when the Cowboys finished 8-8 each of the past three seasons, winning more than three in a row just once.
Now it matters more than ever because the Cowboys are 6-1 and tied with the Denver Broncos for the NFL's best record.
Garrett has programmed his team to handle the ebb and flow of a 16-game NFL season, which is why the Cowboys didn't quit when San Francisco built a 28-3 halftime lead in the opener. And it's why this team didn't have a letdown after thumping New Orleans or manhandling the champion Seahawks in Seattle.
"My job is to create an atmosphere, an environment and a structure to help everyone around here be their best each and every day. It's never in place," Garrett said of the culture he's implemented.
"It's a work in progress, and you have to earn it every day in everything you do."
One of Garrett's strengths as a leader is that his message has never varied, and his tenets of winning football have never changed.
The message rookies such as DeMarcus Lawrence and Anthony Hitchens receive is no different than the messages Justin Durant has heard for his two seasons in Dallas or Jason Witten has heard since Garrett took over for Wade Phillips.
"When you do something all of the time -- win or lose -- guys know you're really talking about stuff you believe and you're not just saying words," Durant said. "We've all bought in. Why wouldn't we?"
The culture Garrett has built, if you think about it, isn't all that different from the one Bill Parcells established from 2003-06.
Phillips' style, meanwhile, was the polar opposite of Parcells', and while he had success -- going 13-3 in 2007 and 11-5 in 2009 -- the team ultimately quit on him during a 1-7 start in 2010.
One of the first things Garrett did after being named head coach was to install large, digital clocks with bright-red bulbs, immediately eliminating any excuse for being tardy. Next, he put the players in full pads on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the two heaviest practice days of each week.
It speaks to Garrett's thoughts on the importance of details and playing physical football. Both have contributed to the Cowboys' surprising 2014 start.
The media and fans don't often see emotion from Garrett during daily briefings; his team, however, sees another dude.
Players see a guy who doesn't mind dropping an F-bomb here or there. They see a guy who choked up when he gave tight-ends coach Mike Pope, a longtime New York Giants assistant, a game ball after Sunday's victory. They see a coach who is demanding and believes in accountability.
Don't forget, former fifth-round pick Orlando Scandrick took a corner-backing job away from former first-rounder Morris Claiborne last season. Jermey Parnell, once an undrafted free agent, played 20 snaps a game at right tackle in 2012 because Garrett didn't like the performance of former fourth-rounder Doug Free.
And, in case you haven't noticed, Tyrone Crawford, a third-round pick in 2012, has kept the starting position at defensive tackle instead of Henry Melton, the Cowboys' big-ticket, free-agent acquisition.
"A sign of a good coach is someone who has his core beliefs, knows how to talk about them and hit home with them," Witten said. "It's easy for Jason to do that because everything he talks about is who he is -- and his team has taken on his same approach.
"That's why we didn't get big-headed after beating Seattle. We enjoyed it, but we just kept on grinding. This is a tough league, and you have to take that approach."
If you closed your eyes, you'd swear it was Garrett talking, not Witten -- one more indication the players have internalized his message.
After years of grinding, Cowboys have translated coach's mantras into a steady 6-1
Updated: October 24, 2014, 1:22 AM ET
By Jean-Jacques Taylor | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- Admit it: You roll your eyes every time coach Jason Garrett starts talking about taking an unemotional look at the Dallas Cowboys' previous game, building on the good stuff and correcting the stuff that wasn't so good.
And you probably scoff whenever Garrett starts talking about stacking good days together, and having a good walk-through followed by a good meeting followed by a good practice, because that positions the Cowboys to play their best football on Sunday.
Garrett's rhetoric is monotonous, for sure, but it's designed to create a culture that allows his team to handle the highs of success just as well as it deals with the despair of defeat.
Since he became coach halfway through the 2010 season, Garrett has always emphasized focusing on the here and now -- not yesterday, not tomorrow -- and the aspects of preparation each individual player can control.
None of Garrett's mantras seemed to matter all that much when the Cowboys finished 8-8 each of the past three seasons, winning more than three in a row just once.
Now it matters more than ever because the Cowboys are 6-1 and tied with the Denver Broncos for the NFL's best record.
Garrett has programmed his team to handle the ebb and flow of a 16-game NFL season, which is why the Cowboys didn't quit when San Francisco built a 28-3 halftime lead in the opener. And it's why this team didn't have a letdown after thumping New Orleans or manhandling the champion Seahawks in Seattle.
"My job is to create an atmosphere, an environment and a structure to help everyone around here be their best each and every day. It's never in place," Garrett said of the culture he's implemented.
"It's a work in progress, and you have to earn it every day in everything you do."
One of Garrett's strengths as a leader is that his message has never varied, and his tenets of winning football have never changed.
The message rookies such as DeMarcus Lawrence and Anthony Hitchens receive is no different than the messages Justin Durant has heard for his two seasons in Dallas or Jason Witten has heard since Garrett took over for Wade Phillips.
"When you do something all of the time -- win or lose -- guys know you're really talking about stuff you believe and you're not just saying words," Durant said. "We've all bought in. Why wouldn't we?"
The culture Garrett has built, if you think about it, isn't all that different from the one Bill Parcells established from 2003-06.
Phillips' style, meanwhile, was the polar opposite of Parcells', and while he had success -- going 13-3 in 2007 and 11-5 in 2009 -- the team ultimately quit on him during a 1-7 start in 2010.
One of the first things Garrett did after being named head coach was to install large, digital clocks with bright-red bulbs, immediately eliminating any excuse for being tardy. Next, he put the players in full pads on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the two heaviest practice days of each week.
It speaks to Garrett's thoughts on the importance of details and playing physical football. Both have contributed to the Cowboys' surprising 2014 start.
The media and fans don't often see emotion from Garrett during daily briefings; his team, however, sees another dude.
Players see a guy who doesn't mind dropping an F-bomb here or there. They see a guy who choked up when he gave tight-ends coach Mike Pope, a longtime New York Giants assistant, a game ball after Sunday's victory. They see a coach who is demanding and believes in accountability.
Don't forget, former fifth-round pick Orlando Scandrick took a corner-backing job away from former first-rounder Morris Claiborne last season. Jermey Parnell, once an undrafted free agent, played 20 snaps a game at right tackle in 2012 because Garrett didn't like the performance of former fourth-rounder Doug Free.
And, in case you haven't noticed, Tyrone Crawford, a third-round pick in 2012, has kept the starting position at defensive tackle instead of Henry Melton, the Cowboys' big-ticket, free-agent acquisition.
"A sign of a good coach is someone who has his core beliefs, knows how to talk about them and hit home with them," Witten said. "It's easy for Jason to do that because everything he talks about is who he is -- and his team has taken on his same approach.
"That's why we didn't get big-headed after beating Seattle. We enjoyed it, but we just kept on grinding. This is a tough league, and you have to take that approach."
If you closed your eyes, you'd swear it was Garrett talking, not Witten -- one more indication the players have internalized his message.
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