Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Reportedly Wants Jason Garrett to Stop Calling Plays

The Dallas Cowboys have already made adjustments on defense, but owner and general manager Jerry Jones is reportedly turning his focus to the other side of the ball and wishes for head coach Jason Garrett to relinquish play-calling duties for next season.

After firing defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, Jones’ next move is to get a new coach orchestrating the offense. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes:

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According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN, owner Jerry Jones is pushing coach Jason Garrett to relinquish play-calling duties.  Per Mort, Jones also may be trying to get Garrett to fire his brother, tight ends coach John Garrett. 

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The Cowboys are coming off an 8-8 season in which they once again failed to take advantage of an opportunity to reach the playoffs in the final week of the season. 

In 2011 a Week 17 matchup with the New York Giants was a de facto postseason game, and Dallas lost 31-14. This season, the Cowboys needed a victory against the Washington Redskins to extend their campaign, but a late interception from Tony Romo sealed the team’s fate for the second straight year.

This disappointing end has caused Jones to reshuffle his coaching staff, and he has already hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and USC defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin to be Ryan’s replacement, according to the Associated Press (via ABC.com).

As Florio notes, there are two ways to view Jones’ strategy.

He may genuinely feel that the offensive scheme has gotten stale under Garrett and that a fresh perspective would allow the team to be more explosive.

But Jones has a reputation for being impatient with his coaches, and this may be a power play to get Garrett out of Dallas without an abrupt firing. Florio believes that Jones would be interested in reuniting the Super Bowl-winning combination of Kiffin and Jon Gruden. 

Given Jones' history, there will likely be more drama in the Dallas front office.