Moore: Here's why Greg Hardy is still a free-agent outcast

Genghis Khan said:

No one wanted to touch him last year either apparently, but we did. Once you do have him, you should probably try and make it work.

I think it was clear publicly that Garrett wasn't in Hardy's corner. I have no doubt that affected Hardy's attitude and performance. Even when the criticism was kind of ridiculous, Garrett chose to admonish Hardy rather than support him.

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When the photos were released there was an upheaval of criticism from the league, public and media. it would have been foolish for Garrett to try to support his actions. It would have brought even more criticism to Dallas than they were already getting. Garrett or Jones making any comment would have been seriously bad for team PR.

Yep, you could sense the dilemma that caused in the head of Milquetoast Red. No matter which side he supported, someone would have been mad at him. And that's a very uncomfortable tightrope to walk for someone intent on being liked by everyone.

L.T. Fan said:

When the photos were released there was an upheaval of criticism from the league, public and media. it would have been foolish for Garrett to try to support his actions. It would have brought even more criticism to Dallas than they were already getting. Garrett or Jones making any comment would have been seriously bad for team PR.

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I'm talking about when hardy said he was innocent, and when he said he was coming out guns blazing. That kind of stuff is innocuous and people were just looking for reasons to bash him. Garrett distanced himself from him and even added to the criticism.

Well maybe there is a reason even then that Garrett wanted nothing to do with the guy and we are seeing that now both from him and the rest of the league.

Its easy to say Garrett mismanaged him but frankly the evidence looks mostly like no one wants to handle him except -- shocker -- Jerry Jones. Wouldn't be the first time that was the case.

I was all for brining Hardy aboard but given the rumors about him being a locker room problem, I'm not gonna fault the coach, or stupidly celebrate that Hardy may have called him a pussy. Bill Parcells shipped out plenty of headaches instead of managing them, and remember that he wanted no part of Terrell Owens either.

It was a shot at a home run signing that didn't work out because of the player and the player only. If he had buttons that could be pressed into being a functional human being, he probably would have found a spot by now. Maybe a guy like Belichick could rehab him but the number of coaches who could do so can be counted on probably three fingers.

Genghis Khan said:

I'm talking about when hardy said he was innocent, and when he said he was coming out guns blazing. That kind of stuff is innocuous and people were just looking for reasons to bash him. Garrett distanced himself from him and even added to the criticism.

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Even so I am of the school that folks will do or try to do what they are intent on doing. Hardy simply didn't handle himself correctly during virtually all phases of the controversies. He could have had a different future than what he now has by simply trying to present himself as one who wanted to do better and accept responsibility for the adversity surrounding his history.

Well, hopefully he will sign a low-ball one year contract for us and come back again. No risk in that proposition, as far as I can surmise.

shane said:

Well, hopefully he will sign a low-ball one year contract for us and come back again. No risk in that proposition, as far as I can surmise.

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Don't look for him in Dallas.

mschmidt64 said:

Well maybe there is a reason even then that Garrett wanted nothing to do with the guy and we are seeing that now both from him and the rest of the league.

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I think this is clear.

But Garrett needed to come out and decisively say it. Instead he tersely called him a "free agent", which leaves whether he might return to Dallas open for interpretation.

Just say, "Greg Hardy's not coming back to Dallas".

Jerry would probably be happier not to have the choice, I think, and his respect for his HC might even improve.

I think there's a lot of reasons to not come out and say it like that, beginning with the fact that it's not his decision.

ravidubey said:

I think this is clear.

But Garrett needed to come out and decisively say it. Instead he tersely called him a "free agent", which leaves whether he might return to Dallas open for interpretation.

Just say, "Greg Hardy's not coming back to Dallas".

Jerry would probably be happier not to have the choice, I think, and his respect for his HC might even improve.

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I concur with Garretts response. He was a free agent and Garrett had no obligation to the media to say what Hardy' s future might be with the organization. It's possible that the staff was still deliberating about him so why muddle things further.

mschmidt64 said:

I think there's a lot of reasons to not come out and say it like that, beginning with the fact that it's not his decision.

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Sure, of course Garrett has a dozen graceful ways to publicly say no to Greg Hardy as a 2016 Cowboy. My point is by declaring it publicly, he owns the decision.

Jerry will probably just nod his head in agreement and not give it a second thought. Instead you have reporters coming up to him asking him if the "door's still open."

Of course the answer is yes, technically, but had Garrett been assertive the question is never even asked.

Garrett didn't say he definitely wasn't coming back because he knows it's not his decision to make.

mschmidt64 said:

I think there's a lot of reasons to not come out and say it like that, beginning with the fact that it's not his decision.

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I don't have a problem with his response. If you heard Parcells say that with a grumpy voice everyone would applaud and clap. I don't really give a shit about that.

What I wasn't a fan of was the way that Garrett seemed to hate the guy from day one. I remember pointing out during the season when it seemed like Garrett automatically took the side against Hardy every chance he got. That's what I really had a problem with. Garrett never gave it a chance to succeed from the very beginning.

Cowboysrock55 said:

I don't have a problem with his response. If you heard Parcells say that with a grumpy voice everyone would applaud and clap. I don't really give a shit about that.

What I wasn't a fan of was the way that Garrett seemed to hate the guy from day one. I remember pointing out during the season when it seemed like Garrett automatically took the side against Hardy every chance he got. That's what I really had a problem with. Garrett never gave it a chance to succeed from the very beginning.

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Exactly.

At some point subtext in the media implying how you "really feel" about a guy is bullshit. Just come out with it. If you feel he's done something wrong, bench him. If you don't want him on the team, say so.

Even Jerry wouldn't answer "Yes" to that question if he knows Garrett simply doesn't want him.

I don't exactly blame Garrett for the Hardy problem, I think Hardy exposed how little backbone Garrett actually had. But Hardy himself would never have been picked up by a team whose coach has veto authority, having a neutered proxy for Jerry at HC is the only reason Hardy got signed, so it was destined to fail from the beginning.

I don't think this debacle with Hardy can just be laid off on Garrett. He has made himself known as to his preference of player behaviors and Hardy neither fit the mold or did anything to change anyone's mind. When his contract was up he stated the player was now a free agent. It's obvious he wasn't enthralled with Hardy but it was incumbent on him to change Garrett's mind. Apparently he didn't.

L.T. Fan said:

He has made himself known as to his preference of player behaviors and Hardy neither fit the mold or did anything to change anyone's mind.

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So you don't support the guy and throw him under the bus with the media but then turn around and start him and play him as much as anyone on defense. That is extreme inconsistency out of Garrett. It's like he wanted to prove a point with Hardy by sabotaging him.

Cowboysrock55 said:

So you don't support the guy and throw him under the bus with the media but then turn around and start him and play him as much as anyone on defense. That is extreme inconsistency out of Garrett. It's like he wanted to prove a point with Hardy by sabotaging him.

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How did he throw him under the bus? I'm not clear on this.

L.T. Fan said:

How did he throw him under the bus? I'm not clear on this.

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Pretty much the entire season when a media member brought up Hardy, Garrett took the side of the media member over Hardy.