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A glimpse into why players trust Jason Garrett
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas – Attention those looking for commencement ceremony speakers in 2016: Hire Jason Garrett.
Since taking over as the Dallas Cowboys’ head coach midway through the 2010 season, players have lauded Garrett’s motivational skills with his storytelling.
Garrett held his annual football camp at Princeton over the weekend. Players such as Jason Witten, Barry Church and Joseph Randle were in attendance with some former Garrett teammates and current coaches. High school-aged players from New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania attended the camp to help with not just football but life skills.
Garrett likes to say football is a lot like life, while acknowledging all athletics are like life. It’s about handling adversity, dealing with success, and understanding the process.
A lot of it most likely sounded like what he said when he received the Princeton Varsity Club’s Citizen-Athlete Award, which recognizes selfless and noble contributions to sport and society, on May 28. For nearly 23 minutes, Garrett, wearing a black blazer with orange trim to match Princeton’s colors, spoke about the value of leadership, living in the moment and mental toughness.
They are the tenets Garrett not only lives by but wants his players to live by.
Garrett is clearly emotional at the beginning of his speech, humbled by the honor, but as he gets going you can see why players continued to trust his message even through three straight 8-8 finishes from 2011-13.
Garrett mixed in stories about his playing days, including a story about Kevin Gogan from a preseason game. In the huddle Garrett asked the players what count they wanted to go on to run a play. Gogan forcefully told him he was the quarterback, so he needed to pick the count. He said it was a “dagger” but also showed him that those in a leadership position must lead.
As the quarterback and now the coach, Garrett is looked at to set the agenda.
He has used the Navy SEALs as an example to his team the last few years and the Cowboys have visited with the SEALs during training camp the last two summers.
Garrett ended the speech with a story about his training before the 1989 NFL scouting combine. He asked Princeton’s track and field goal Fred Samara to examine his 40-yard dash so he could improve his time.
After he finished his first sprint, Garrett awaited Samara’s evaluation.
“He said, ‘You have finish-line anxiety,’” Garrett told the crowd. “I said, ‘Huh, what’s finish-line anxiety?’ He said, ‘You come out of your stance and all you do is think about the finish line. I have to get their as fast as I can. You’ve got your carotid arteries popping out of your neck. Your head is so red it’s frickin’ purple. Here’s what I want you do to. You need to run. Just run.’
“It’s a little bit of a laughable story but to me, it’s a great life philosophy story. We get so caught up in this atmosphere of excellence and achievement and what the finish line is. … Life is about the run. Run. Don’t worry about the finish line. Don’t worry about the results. Don’t worry about the scoreboard. Don’t worry about the record.
“If you have a relentless pursuit of excellence at everything you do, and you just run, all of that stuff is going to take care of itself.”
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas – Attention those looking for commencement ceremony speakers in 2016: Hire Jason Garrett.
Since taking over as the Dallas Cowboys’ head coach midway through the 2010 season, players have lauded Garrett’s motivational skills with his storytelling.
Garrett held his annual football camp at Princeton over the weekend. Players such as Jason Witten, Barry Church and Joseph Randle were in attendance with some former Garrett teammates and current coaches. High school-aged players from New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania attended the camp to help with not just football but life skills.
Garrett likes to say football is a lot like life, while acknowledging all athletics are like life. It’s about handling adversity, dealing with success, and understanding the process.
A lot of it most likely sounded like what he said when he received the Princeton Varsity Club’s Citizen-Athlete Award, which recognizes selfless and noble contributions to sport and society, on May 28. For nearly 23 minutes, Garrett, wearing a black blazer with orange trim to match Princeton’s colors, spoke about the value of leadership, living in the moment and mental toughness.
They are the tenets Garrett not only lives by but wants his players to live by.
Garrett is clearly emotional at the beginning of his speech, humbled by the honor, but as he gets going you can see why players continued to trust his message even through three straight 8-8 finishes from 2011-13.
Garrett mixed in stories about his playing days, including a story about Kevin Gogan from a preseason game. In the huddle Garrett asked the players what count they wanted to go on to run a play. Gogan forcefully told him he was the quarterback, so he needed to pick the count. He said it was a “dagger” but also showed him that those in a leadership position must lead.
As the quarterback and now the coach, Garrett is looked at to set the agenda.
He has used the Navy SEALs as an example to his team the last few years and the Cowboys have visited with the SEALs during training camp the last two summers.
Garrett ended the speech with a story about his training before the 1989 NFL scouting combine. He asked Princeton’s track and field goal Fred Samara to examine his 40-yard dash so he could improve his time.
After he finished his first sprint, Garrett awaited Samara’s evaluation.
“He said, ‘You have finish-line anxiety,’” Garrett told the crowd. “I said, ‘Huh, what’s finish-line anxiety?’ He said, ‘You come out of your stance and all you do is think about the finish line. I have to get their as fast as I can. You’ve got your carotid arteries popping out of your neck. Your head is so red it’s frickin’ purple. Here’s what I want you do to. You need to run. Just run.’
“It’s a little bit of a laughable story but to me, it’s a great life philosophy story. We get so caught up in this atmosphere of excellence and achievement and what the finish line is. … Life is about the run. Run. Don’t worry about the finish line. Don’t worry about the results. Don’t worry about the scoreboard. Don’t worry about the record.
“If you have a relentless pursuit of excellence at everything you do, and you just run, all of that stuff is going to take care of itself.”