The speculation regarding Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett’s future with the Dallas Cowboys is still up in the air according to some pundits. Team owner Jerry Jones said in a press conference that Garrett’s job is indeed safe. He said it before the season ended as well, but some still believe that Jones may change his mind.

Garrett has only been at the helm for a little over a season and a half and still needs time to grow. Head coaches aren’t usually the ones needing to grow into their positions, but it was painfully obvious that Garrett is still learning on the job.

Remember his freeze of kicker Dan Bailey in Arizona?

Garrett isn’t there yet, but I believe he’ll eventually lead Dallas to where they need to go. At least that’s my hope.

But the larger question is whether Garrett has any chance of success with Jerry Jones still calling all of the shots. Jones is the everyman for the Dallas Cowboys and has said unapologetically that Dallas does not need a general manager.

Well Jerry is wrong, and we have history to back up his stance. The Cowboys haven’t had any type of consistent success since the days of Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer and Chan Gailey. Jones hired current secondary coach Dave Campo as a head coach in 2000 and the team went 5-11 for three straight seasons under Campo’s leadership.

Jones traded for former Texas Longhorn receiver Roy Williams and gave up a first-round pick and a small mountain of cash in the process.

Jerry has yielded one playoff win in 15 years as general manager and his teams consistently collapse late in the season.

If Mr. Jones is unwilling to yield any type of control of his franchise to anyone but himself then how can Garrett possibly succeed?

There are two reasons why the Cowboys need a general manager for the short term. Well there are way more than two, but I’m only going to list the two most important.  

Garrett Needs An Offensive Coordinator

Jason Garrett can be a great offensive coordinator, see 2007 Cowboys season, and he can be an average one. Dallas finished 11th in offense with 375 yards per game. That’s not a bad average, but considering the Cowboys lost eight games there was some imbalance somewhere.

Garrett is calling plays and doesn’t seem to have time to manage everything else. If Jones put his foot down and told Garrett that a coordinator was necessary to his career as a head coach in Dallas then maybe the Cowboys would be OK. Then again, Jones fails to realize that he needs a general manager so there’s that.

 

Talent Coordinator

We can sit here and argue all day and night that Jones has a great eye for talent. He drafted DeMarcus Ware, or Bill Parcells did, and DeMarco Murray. He chose Felix Jones and Tyron Smith along with Jay Ratliff and Dez Bryant.

I’m not indifferent to the Cowboys talent level, but here’s where my concern comes into play. Dallas has been unable to find the right mix of talent to win more than one football game in almost two decades. For every player with the talent of a Tony Romo, there is a player like Alan Ball. From top to bottom, the Cowboys seem very top heavy.

If Romo goes down there is no strong belief that Dallas has a capable backup. The Indianapolis Colts lost Peyton Manning for a season, and it got their general manager fired. The Cowboys have issues on the offensive line and at secondary, and I believe a strong general manager could get the Cowboys what they need.

Overall Garrett’s success depends on how he coaches the team. It’s not as black and white as Jerry letting him be or finding the right mix of players to lead Dallas to the Super Bowl.

But as it stands right now, my level of faith in Garrett’s ability to take Dallas to the promise land?

Picture Terence Newman covering Laurent Robinson. Who do you think would win? Yep, that’s my level of faith.