- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 123,329
Jason Garrett: Cowboys wouldn’t add Greg Hardy if they didn’t think he could be ‘right kind of guy’
David Moore Follow @DavidMooreDMN Email dmoore@dallasnews.com
Published: March 23, 2015 5:42 pm
It’s a phrase he won’t use about Greg Hardy. Instead, the Cowboys head coach talks about the defensive end becoming the right kind of guy.
Garrett made his first public comments about the signing of Hardy Monday afternoon from the NFL Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Arz. Garrett addressed whether or not it was hypocritical of him to sign Hardy given his emphasis on character. He spoke of the club’s obligation to make this work, Hardy’s need to be accountable and a contract Garrett believes will allow this to happen.
“First off, we understand the seriousness of domestic violence,’’ Garrett said. “We obviously aren’t for domestic violence, so let’s get that out at the start.
“If we didn’t believe that Greg Hardy could become the right kind of guy we would not have signed him. We have a lot of confidence in the environment that we create for our players to bring the best out in them.
“Now, it’s on us to do our jobs to create the environment to bring the best out in him as a player on the field and as a person off the field. We believe based on all the research we’ve done, all the due diligence we’ve done that he can become the right kind of guy for our team.
“It is also Greg Hardy’s responsibility.’’
Garrett said the Cowboys organization will hold Hardy accountable.
“We made decisions with players in the past who we also believe can become the right kind of guy,’’ Garrett said. “In some cases, we’ve had real success stories because of the environment we created and how the player responded. In other cases, we made a decision to bring someone in believing he’d become the right kind of guy and it turned out he wasn’t able to do that and we moved on. We move on as quickly as we can.
“If you think about the contract we structured with Greg Hardy, there is great freedom for us to make the right decision for our football team at any time if we don’t feel like he’s becoming the right kind of guy. We can hold him accountable that way.’’
The bottom line: Hardy agreed to a one-year, incentive-laced contract that can escalate up to $13.1 million based on the number of games he plays and sacks he accrues. None of the payout is guaranteed and it’s improbable he’ll come close to the maximum.
Hardy was arrested on May 13 of last year when an argument between him and his girlfriend at the time escalated. He was convicted of domestic abuse by a judge, but appealed and asked for a jury trial. That was thrown out last month when the accuser failed to appear.
Garrett called the decision to sign Hardy a collective one by the organization. The player spent two days at the club’s practice facility last week before a contract was signed.
“I made it very clear to him right from the outset of our conversation that we were not recruiting him,’’ Garrett said. “We were finding out about him.
“The picture we painted: there were a lot of really positive things, there were different things that were red flags in his background that we were able to get our arms around and say we provide the right atmosphere. We pride ourselves on that. I pride myself on that.
“If we provide the right atmosphere for this guy, we believe we can bring the best out in him and he can be the right kind of guy for us. We made that conclusion and we went ahead and made the signing.’’
David Moore Follow @DavidMooreDMN Email dmoore@dallasnews.com
Published: March 23, 2015 5:42 pm
It’s a phrase he won’t use about Greg Hardy. Instead, the Cowboys head coach talks about the defensive end becoming the right kind of guy.
Garrett made his first public comments about the signing of Hardy Monday afternoon from the NFL Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Arz. Garrett addressed whether or not it was hypocritical of him to sign Hardy given his emphasis on character. He spoke of the club’s obligation to make this work, Hardy’s need to be accountable and a contract Garrett believes will allow this to happen.
“First off, we understand the seriousness of domestic violence,’’ Garrett said. “We obviously aren’t for domestic violence, so let’s get that out at the start.
“If we didn’t believe that Greg Hardy could become the right kind of guy we would not have signed him. We have a lot of confidence in the environment that we create for our players to bring the best out in them.
“Now, it’s on us to do our jobs to create the environment to bring the best out in him as a player on the field and as a person off the field. We believe based on all the research we’ve done, all the due diligence we’ve done that he can become the right kind of guy for our team.
“It is also Greg Hardy’s responsibility.’’
Garrett said the Cowboys organization will hold Hardy accountable.
“We made decisions with players in the past who we also believe can become the right kind of guy,’’ Garrett said. “In some cases, we’ve had real success stories because of the environment we created and how the player responded. In other cases, we made a decision to bring someone in believing he’d become the right kind of guy and it turned out he wasn’t able to do that and we moved on. We move on as quickly as we can.
“If you think about the contract we structured with Greg Hardy, there is great freedom for us to make the right decision for our football team at any time if we don’t feel like he’s becoming the right kind of guy. We can hold him accountable that way.’’
The bottom line: Hardy agreed to a one-year, incentive-laced contract that can escalate up to $13.1 million based on the number of games he plays and sacks he accrues. None of the payout is guaranteed and it’s improbable he’ll come close to the maximum.
Hardy was arrested on May 13 of last year when an argument between him and his girlfriend at the time escalated. He was convicted of domestic abuse by a judge, but appealed and asked for a jury trial. That was thrown out last month when the accuser failed to appear.
Garrett called the decision to sign Hardy a collective one by the organization. The player spent two days at the club’s practice facility last week before a contract was signed.
“I made it very clear to him right from the outset of our conversation that we were not recruiting him,’’ Garrett said. “We were finding out about him.
“The picture we painted: there were a lot of really positive things, there were different things that were red flags in his background that we were able to get our arms around and say we provide the right atmosphere. We pride ourselves on that. I pride myself on that.
“If we provide the right atmosphere for this guy, we believe we can bring the best out in him and he can be the right kind of guy for us. We made that conclusion and we went ahead and made the signing.’’