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Jason Garrett refuses to change his approach despite Greg Hardy, losses
Jean-Jacques Taylor, ESPN Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas -- If you’re waiting for Jason Garrett to stick a finger in defensive end Greg Hardy's chest and cuss him out because he went ballistic on the sideline Sunday afternoon, just stop; because it’s not happening.
If you’re waiting for Garrett to publicly rip players or turn over a table filled with cups of Gatorade on Sunday against Seattle because this team is consistently reckless with the football, understand that that's not happening either.
Yes, this is one of the most challenging moments since Garrett took over for Wade Phillips eight games into the 2010 season.
The Dallas Cowboys have lost four consecutive games, and quarterback Tony Romo will miss at least four more with a broken collarbone. Right now, the Cowboys are last in the NFC East, and a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations is slowly slipping away.
Yet, none of that will change Garrett’s approach to the team or the season -- no matter how much you wish it would. He lives minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day.
It’s the approach Garrett took when former defensive end Josh Brent was involved in a one-car accident that left practice squad linebacker Jerry Brown dead the day before a game with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012, and the same approach he used in 2013 when owner Jerry Jones made him give up the play-calling.
It’s how he handled three consecutive 8-8 seasons, and working last season as a lame duck since Jones didn’t offer him an extension before the season. Garrett refuses to take a global view of issues -- good or bad -- in his life. He’s always about the process.
There’s no need for screaming and yelling, but don’t misunderstand. Garrett has no problem making his point with players.
They know he’s in charge.
"When you’re a leader you have to provide energy and direction for the group,” Garrett said. "Just because someone demonstrates poise and composure doesn’t mean there’s not intensity there.
"Hopefully our team feels that from me, feels that from the coaches, and feels that from the leaders on the team.”
Tom Landry never screamed at players, and he did a pretty good job. The same is true of Tony Dungy. Bill Walsh, too.
Not everyone is Vince Lombardi or Jimmy Johnson. Success has many faces.
"Passion, emotion and enthusiasm is manifested a lot of different ways, and you have to allow people to be themselves,” Garrett said, "but when you’re in a leadership role you want to be able to convey that energy, the poise and the composure but also the juice."
Here’s how Garrett attacks every Cowboys’ issue: He acknowledges the problem, finds a solution, implements the solution and moves onto the next problem.
So he’s not worried about frustration settling into his locker room after they Cowboys blew their third halftime lead in four games. He knows exactly why the New York Giants beat the Cowboys despite being dominated statistically, and he’s going to calmly explain it to the players Tuesday.
"I think if you watch our football team play they play the right way,” Garrett said. "They fight, they battle, they scratch, they claw. There’s a relentless nature to them.
"I really like our team and the approach we take every day. The preparation last week was fantastic. The energy and intensity in the game was really really good.
“But we didn't do what winning teams do in the game regards to the football. We turned it over three times on offense, we muffed a punt late in the ball game and we gave up a 100-yard kickoff return.”
Garrett’s approach and the culture he’s created at the club’s Valley Ranch training complex is designed to help the players ignore the noise from outside the building. You’ll never hear Garrett talk about expectations, or hear him react angrily to someone else’s opinion about his team.
He doesn’t care what you think about Hardy’s sideline antics, or whether Dez Bryant is rushing back from his broken toe.
He’s secure enough in himself and his program to ignore you. He'll ignore me, too.
“We just focus on our team and what we need to do to our best as players and coaches,” Garrett said. “That’s where our attention is.
"We don’t really think that much about what the perception is. We address situations and keep moving forward individually and collectively as a football team.”
Jean-Jacques Taylor, ESPN Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas -- If you’re waiting for Jason Garrett to stick a finger in defensive end Greg Hardy's chest and cuss him out because he went ballistic on the sideline Sunday afternoon, just stop; because it’s not happening.
If you’re waiting for Garrett to publicly rip players or turn over a table filled with cups of Gatorade on Sunday against Seattle because this team is consistently reckless with the football, understand that that's not happening either.
Yes, this is one of the most challenging moments since Garrett took over for Wade Phillips eight games into the 2010 season.
The Dallas Cowboys have lost four consecutive games, and quarterback Tony Romo will miss at least four more with a broken collarbone. Right now, the Cowboys are last in the NFC East, and a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations is slowly slipping away.
Yet, none of that will change Garrett’s approach to the team or the season -- no matter how much you wish it would. He lives minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day.
It’s the approach Garrett took when former defensive end Josh Brent was involved in a one-car accident that left practice squad linebacker Jerry Brown dead the day before a game with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2012, and the same approach he used in 2013 when owner Jerry Jones made him give up the play-calling.
It’s how he handled three consecutive 8-8 seasons, and working last season as a lame duck since Jones didn’t offer him an extension before the season. Garrett refuses to take a global view of issues -- good or bad -- in his life. He’s always about the process.
There’s no need for screaming and yelling, but don’t misunderstand. Garrett has no problem making his point with players.
They know he’s in charge.
"When you’re a leader you have to provide energy and direction for the group,” Garrett said. "Just because someone demonstrates poise and composure doesn’t mean there’s not intensity there.
"Hopefully our team feels that from me, feels that from the coaches, and feels that from the leaders on the team.”
Tom Landry never screamed at players, and he did a pretty good job. The same is true of Tony Dungy. Bill Walsh, too.
Not everyone is Vince Lombardi or Jimmy Johnson. Success has many faces.
"Passion, emotion and enthusiasm is manifested a lot of different ways, and you have to allow people to be themselves,” Garrett said, "but when you’re in a leadership role you want to be able to convey that energy, the poise and the composure but also the juice."
Here’s how Garrett attacks every Cowboys’ issue: He acknowledges the problem, finds a solution, implements the solution and moves onto the next problem.
So he’s not worried about frustration settling into his locker room after they Cowboys blew their third halftime lead in four games. He knows exactly why the New York Giants beat the Cowboys despite being dominated statistically, and he’s going to calmly explain it to the players Tuesday.
"I think if you watch our football team play they play the right way,” Garrett said. "They fight, they battle, they scratch, they claw. There’s a relentless nature to them.
"I really like our team and the approach we take every day. The preparation last week was fantastic. The energy and intensity in the game was really really good.
“But we didn't do what winning teams do in the game regards to the football. We turned it over three times on offense, we muffed a punt late in the ball game and we gave up a 100-yard kickoff return.”
Garrett’s approach and the culture he’s created at the club’s Valley Ranch training complex is designed to help the players ignore the noise from outside the building. You’ll never hear Garrett talk about expectations, or hear him react angrily to someone else’s opinion about his team.
He doesn’t care what you think about Hardy’s sideline antics, or whether Dez Bryant is rushing back from his broken toe.
He’s secure enough in himself and his program to ignore you. He'll ignore me, too.
“We just focus on our team and what we need to do to our best as players and coaches,” Garrett said. “That’s where our attention is.
"We don’t really think that much about what the perception is. We address situations and keep moving forward individually and collectively as a football team.”
