By Dwain Price, NDG Sports Special Contributor
FRISCO – Anyone waiting on the Dallas Cowboys to fire head coach Jason Garrett, don’t hold your breath. On his weekly radio show Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones basically said Garrett’s job is as safe as the team’s general manager’s – who just happens to be Jones. While admitting there are some problems with his team’s inability to win games that are there to be won, Jones declared Garrett is not one of those problems.
“I certainly know a lot about Jason Garrett, and because of that I can very quickly and candidly say his job is not an issue here at all,” Jones said. “Let’s not get into all the reasons why, and I won’t get into all the reasons why not.
“Let’s just say that it’s not in the best interest of the Cowboys right now to be considering a head coaching change.”
In seven full seasons as the Cowboys’ head coach, Garrett has made two playoff appearances and won one playoff game. And the Cowboys won’t be returning to the playoff this season, either, after Sunday’s disappointing 21-12 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle scored all 21 of its points off Cowboys turnovers. And when the Cowboys reached the Seattle 2-yard line in the fourth quarter, instead of lining up arguably the best offensive line in the NFL and allowing arguably the game’s best running back (Ezekiel Elliott) to ram the ball down the Seahawks’ throats, Garrett made a decision that had the stomachs of Cowboys Nation churning over and over again.
The Cowboys had a first-and-goal from the 3 and quarterback Dak Prescott kept the ball for a one-yard run-pass option play. A holding penalty on tight end Jason Witten cost the Cowboys 10 yards on a second-down pass play. Prescott was sacked for an 11-yard loss when the Cowboys had to repeat second down. And his third down pass fell incomplete. Then, to add insult to injury, the usually reliable Dan Bailey missed a short 34-yard field goal.
But why didn’t Elliott touch the ball at all on that sequence – with the Cowboys down nine and approximately seven minutes remaining in the game?
“Again, I think we are one of the better end zone teams in the league,” Garrett said. “Running the ball has been a part of it and run-pass options have been a part of it and then throwing the ball.
“In that particular case it didn’t work out well for us. Obviously Zeke is a very good player, we like him and we give him plenty opportunities. In that particular case, it didn’t work out for us and that was a big part of the game.”
Elliott was playing his first game after being suspended for six games by the NFL for violating the league’s domestic abuse policy. And he certainly wasn’t about to dive head-first into a hot debate over whether he should have gotten the ball inside the Seattle 5-yard line with the season on the line.
“My job is to play football, it’s not to coach, it’s not to call plays,” Elliott said. “I go out there and do what the coaches tell me.
“(Offensive coordinator Scott) Linehan has been (calling plays) for a long time, and I trust him. I know I trust his judgment.”
Sunday’s loss officially eliminated the Cowboys from the playoffs. But Garrett didn’t think it affected his future with the Cowboys, although they entered this season as a heavy Super Bowl contender following last year’s 13-3 performance.
“My job is to do the best job for this football team,” Garrett said. “It was a tough loss for us (Sunday) and we are going to get back to work and try to finish strong.”
The Cowboys (8-7) will end the season Sunday in Philadelphia in what effectively is a meaningless game. But the game will certainly have some meaning for Garrett, who will be trying to avoid his fourth 8-8 finish since he became the Cowboys’ full time head coach in time for the 2011 season.
Jones, for one, certainly has his head coach’s back.
“We did some really good things in the first half this year in many areas,” Jones said. “You’ve got to understand that when you make a (coaching) change you’ve got to look up and see where else you go.”
The Cowboys have only two playoff victories over the last 21 years and are 66-53 under Garrett. The other playoff win came in 2009 under Wade Phillips, who was fired in the middle of the 2010 season and replaced by Garrett. The NFL Coach of the Year last season, Garrett is posed to have his team prepared to end the season against the Eagles, who are 13-2 and have already clinched home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. And Garrett will do so knowing that any doubt on whether or not he’ll return next season as the Cowboys’ head coach has been lifted emphatically by Jones.
“We just got to get back to work and we’ve got to finish strong,” Garrett said. “Finish is a really important word for us — each play, each day, each game.
“And we certainly have to finish the season the right way, and we have the right kind of guys to do that.”
And apparently, the right kind of head coach, too.
Jason needs to go….he is not motivating our team to get in the playoffs and to be successful. The goal of any team is to win and we are NOT reaching that goal. Secondly, Jerry, you are already in the Hall of Fame…step down as General Manager and let a younger season person from the outside be GM. You will still be the owner of the team. COME ON NOW!! DO WHAT IS BEST FOR THE TEAM and not for your EGO!!