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By Bob Sturm Jan 22, 2019
Last Friday, the Cowboys finally announced a decision that many of us believe was actually made many weeks ago. They parted ways with offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, thus ending the namesake of this entire operation, “Decoding Linehan.”
Never fear, we started this series in 2008 when it was called “Decoding Garrett” and we will certainly continue to track the offensive progress (or lack thereof). but Scott Linehan’s five-year run is now behind us. What is not behind us, of course, is the fact that this remains largely Jason Garrett’s offense since the day he was brought in back in 2007.
That is why we all wonder if a staffing shuffle will lead to true change with this offense.
This is Garrett’s offense, and its existence is the reason that he has been as stable a coaching force with this franchise as anyone since Tom Landry. We are relatively confident that Garrett will begin his 10th year as coach of the Dallas Cowboys (ninth full season) and his 13th year as the offensive architect. We can discuss how much control was given to Scott Linehan or Bill Callahan during their years as “offensive coordinators” or while holding similar titles, but since the day he was hired in 2007, this has been the Jason Garrett offense.
What is the Jason Garrett offense? Let’s walk through this.
While I don’t allow for a whole lot of grey area, I will concede that Garrett’s blueprint has evolved quite a bit over the years and, of course, turned on a dime in the spring of 2014. Let’s take a look at what that looks like. Thanks to our friends at ProFootballReference.com, here is the Jason Garrett rankings sheet, which sums up the Cowboys offense during his tenure. As you can see, when he was hired, the Cowboys thought the best way to skin a cat was to let Tony Romo and his arm lead the way to Terrell Owens and a young Jason Witten. They were a top-10 passing offense each year from 2007-2012 under Garrett’s watch. Even the year when Romo was gone for most of the season in 2010, Jon Kitna was able to supply ample passing production. But the team managed to miss the playoffs in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. When you have a top QB and an impressive array of skill position players and still miss the playoffs in five of six seasons, something is horribly wrong. Some would argue that was when the defense was historically bad. (Quite untrue when Wade was here, progressively true with the post-Wade group, and very true by Monte Kiffin’s historically awful 2013 season.) Some would suggest the offensive line had declined. (Again, untrue through 2009, but 2010-2013 featured pretty ordinary OL play up front.) Some would argue that it probably doesn’t matter. If you have Romo in his prime (from 27 to 33 years old) and still miss the playoffs in five of six seasons, you are probably not the right head coach for this organization.
By Bob Sturm Jan 22, 2019
Last Friday, the Cowboys finally announced a decision that many of us believe was actually made many weeks ago. They parted ways with offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, thus ending the namesake of this entire operation, “Decoding Linehan.”
Never fear, we started this series in 2008 when it was called “Decoding Garrett” and we will certainly continue to track the offensive progress (or lack thereof). but Scott Linehan’s five-year run is now behind us. What is not behind us, of course, is the fact that this remains largely Jason Garrett’s offense since the day he was brought in back in 2007.
That is why we all wonder if a staffing shuffle will lead to true change with this offense.
This is Garrett’s offense, and its existence is the reason that he has been as stable a coaching force with this franchise as anyone since Tom Landry. We are relatively confident that Garrett will begin his 10th year as coach of the Dallas Cowboys (ninth full season) and his 13th year as the offensive architect. We can discuss how much control was given to Scott Linehan or Bill Callahan during their years as “offensive coordinators” or while holding similar titles, but since the day he was hired in 2007, this has been the Jason Garrett offense.
What is the Jason Garrett offense? Let’s walk through this.
While I don’t allow for a whole lot of grey area, I will concede that Garrett’s blueprint has evolved quite a bit over the years and, of course, turned on a dime in the spring of 2014. Let’s take a look at what that looks like. Thanks to our friends at ProFootballReference.com, here is the Jason Garrett rankings sheet, which sums up the Cowboys offense during his tenure. As you can see, when he was hired, the Cowboys thought the best way to skin a cat was to let Tony Romo and his arm lead the way to Terrell Owens and a young Jason Witten. They were a top-10 passing offense each year from 2007-2012 under Garrett’s watch. Even the year when Romo was gone for most of the season in 2010, Jon Kitna was able to supply ample passing production. But the team managed to miss the playoffs in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. When you have a top QB and an impressive array of skill position players and still miss the playoffs in five of six seasons, something is horribly wrong. Some would argue that was when the defense was historically bad. (Quite untrue when Wade was here, progressively true with the post-Wade group, and very true by Monte Kiffin’s historically awful 2013 season.) Some would suggest the offensive line had declined. (Again, untrue through 2009, but 2010-2013 featured pretty ordinary OL play up front.) Some would argue that it probably doesn’t matter. If you have Romo in his prime (from 27 to 33 years old) and still miss the playoffs in five of six seasons, you are probably not the right head coach for this organization.