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Dallas Cowboys radio color analyst Babe Laufenberg also spoke about why Cowboys fans shouldn’t expect Garrett to be fired mid-season.
By Demetrio Teniente
9:45 PM on Dec 7, 2019
Ever since the first three-game losing streak this season, a running conversation in Cowboys Nation has been whether or not Dallas needs to part ways with coach Jason Garrett before the season becomes unsalvageable.
If you’ve been part of that conversation since the Cowboys lost to the Jets, 24-22, back in October, then you probably remember that the last time Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones fired a coach mid-season was Wade Phillips in 2010.
Since time is a flat circle — especially with the Cowboys — that mid-season firing is back to kill any hope that Garrett will be fired before the season is over and also sugar coat what is objectively a disappointing season for a team that has underperformed nearly every step of the way.
In a recent interview with the G-Bag Nation on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM], Dallas Cowboys radio color analyst and former NFL quarterback Babe Laufenberg reminded the hosts that at the time of his firing in 2010, Wade Phillips was 1-7.
“This team is in first place,” Laufenberg said. “Granted 6-7, but Wade was 1-7. Nobody survives that. Nobody.”
G-Bag host Gavin Dawson then pointed out how well the Cowboys played after Phillips was fired, finishing that season 5-3 in the final eight games.
“What happened to the team immediately after firing him?” Dawson said. “It was like a breath of fresh air was just pumped right into the team and they started playing free, like they had nothing to lose and bam, they’re 5-3 in the second half of the season with the same players, just a different head coach.”
Laufenberg didn’t back off the point though, reemphasizing that the Cowboys are in first place of the NFC East.
“They’re in first place. I don’t care the record — they’re in first place,” he said. “To change now, unless you have the guy sitting there that you’re grooming — obviously that was the case with Jason Garrett and Wade. Jerry had his eye on Jason and it was easy to make the change.”
We have to also consider the possibility that firing Garret won’t fix all the problems facing the Cowboys. There is, after all, plenty of blame to go around.
Let’s say that getting rid of Garrett doesn’t fix anything. Fine. But what if it’s the last card Dallas has left to play?
Another G-Bag host, Jeff Cavanaugh, said it best just a little before the Laufenberg interview: Garrett isn’t the problem, he is a symptom of it.
“Garrett is not a good head coach, but is that the ultimate problem?” he said. “No. But it is a symptom, right? So we’re not going to fix the problem, we are going to trade out the symptom and put in a new symptom and hope that he can overcome the ultimate problem.”
The ultimate problem being that Garrett, or whoever comes after him, will not have enough control of the team as long as Jones remains general manager.
To a certain degree, Jones acknowledges his part in this team’s shortcomings. To the extent that Cavanaugh and others outside the organization do? Most definitely not.
“There’s nobody in the NFL that’s any more responsible for what’s going on out on the field than me,” Jones said in an, at times heated, interview on The Fan Friday. “I certainly have that kind of frustration as well.”
By Demetrio Teniente
9:45 PM on Dec 7, 2019
Ever since the first three-game losing streak this season, a running conversation in Cowboys Nation has been whether or not Dallas needs to part ways with coach Jason Garrett before the season becomes unsalvageable.
If you’ve been part of that conversation since the Cowboys lost to the Jets, 24-22, back in October, then you probably remember that the last time Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones fired a coach mid-season was Wade Phillips in 2010.
Since time is a flat circle — especially with the Cowboys — that mid-season firing is back to kill any hope that Garrett will be fired before the season is over and also sugar coat what is objectively a disappointing season for a team that has underperformed nearly every step of the way.
In a recent interview with the G-Bag Nation on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM], Dallas Cowboys radio color analyst and former NFL quarterback Babe Laufenberg reminded the hosts that at the time of his firing in 2010, Wade Phillips was 1-7.
“This team is in first place,” Laufenberg said. “Granted 6-7, but Wade was 1-7. Nobody survives that. Nobody.”
G-Bag host Gavin Dawson then pointed out how well the Cowboys played after Phillips was fired, finishing that season 5-3 in the final eight games.
“What happened to the team immediately after firing him?” Dawson said. “It was like a breath of fresh air was just pumped right into the team and they started playing free, like they had nothing to lose and bam, they’re 5-3 in the second half of the season with the same players, just a different head coach.”
Laufenberg didn’t back off the point though, reemphasizing that the Cowboys are in first place of the NFC East.
“They’re in first place. I don’t care the record — they’re in first place,” he said. “To change now, unless you have the guy sitting there that you’re grooming — obviously that was the case with Jason Garrett and Wade. Jerry had his eye on Jason and it was easy to make the change.”
We have to also consider the possibility that firing Garret won’t fix all the problems facing the Cowboys. There is, after all, plenty of blame to go around.
Let’s say that getting rid of Garrett doesn’t fix anything. Fine. But what if it’s the last card Dallas has left to play?
Another G-Bag host, Jeff Cavanaugh, said it best just a little before the Laufenberg interview: Garrett isn’t the problem, he is a symptom of it.
“Garrett is not a good head coach, but is that the ultimate problem?” he said. “No. But it is a symptom, right? So we’re not going to fix the problem, we are going to trade out the symptom and put in a new symptom and hope that he can overcome the ultimate problem.”
The ultimate problem being that Garrett, or whoever comes after him, will not have enough control of the team as long as Jones remains general manager.
To a certain degree, Jones acknowledges his part in this team’s shortcomings. To the extent that Cavanaugh and others outside the organization do? Most definitely not.
“There’s nobody in the NFL that’s any more responsible for what’s going on out on the field than me,” Jones said in an, at times heated, interview on The Fan Friday. “I certainly have that kind of frustration as well.”
