Cowboys Will Gladly Pay Jason Garrett and Others If They Keep on Winning

IRVING, Texas — Jason Garrett opened the season as a lame-duck coach on the hot seat in the final year of his contract.

No matter how fond owner Jerry Jones has always been of Garrett and how much he wanted him to succeed in Dallas, he didn’t even want to discuss a new contract for a coach with a 29-26 record in three-and-a-half years, including three straight 8-8 campaigns.

Well, seven games into the 2014 season, Garrett has gone from the hot seat to the catbird seat.

Garrett and the Cowboys have a league-best record at 6-1, riding a six-game winning streak.

Barring an unforeseen collapse, the Cowboys are certain to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

There has been a lot of talk about how the team’s success in 2014 will cause the price tags of running back DeMarco Murray and receiver Dez Bryant to go up.

Make no mistake about it; Garrett’s value is on a meteoric rise as well.

The thing is, Jones couldn’t be happier about the Cowboys' success and potentially how much deeper he’s going to have to dig in his wallet.

“I will tell you this: I have spent more money in happy situations than we could then in our lifetime spend,” Jones said. “But there is nobody that doesn’t understand that when Jason does well, I do well. I am proud that we are sharing this success with his head coaching effort, he deserves it.”

Garrett deserves the praise and the contract extension after finally getting the Cowboys on the right track and seemingly headed in the right direction.

He has been able to do it in a financially-strapped situation, thanks to poor cap management and a litany of bad contracts by Jones, as well as the unique environment in Dallas with the owner involved and front and center on everything.

But neither the Cowboys nor Garrett want to talk about an extension now. They are too focused on finishing what they started in 2014.

The process-oriented Garrett knows the contract will take care of itself. He said he is only worried about Monday’s game against the Washington Redskins and trying to get the Cowboys to 7-1 for the first time since 2007.

“I just know where I need to focus, where our team needs to focus, and it needs to focus on playing our best football,” Garrett said. “That’s really what I think about.” 

“If you just keep trying to do things the right way, the results on the scoreboard will hopefully take care of itself. And that’s just the way I think. That’s the way we try to help this team.” 

Garrett bristled when pressed further on Monday about possible contract talks with the Cowboys.

“That was the last answer I’m going to have about my contract,” Garrett said. “Seriously, I’m thinking about getting ready for the Redskins.”

Seriously, it’s only a matter of time before the Cowboys get something done with Garrett. It’s not “if” but “when,” and definitely “how much."

Jones has been consistent in his support of Garrett and has always portrayed him as this generation’s version of Tom Landry, whose 29-year stint as Cowboys coach is an NFL record.

Of course, Landry was the first coach Jones fired when he took over the franchise in 1989, and he has gone through six more before hiring Garrett in 2010.

"I don't know that anybody has had a better, brighter vision of Jason's future than I do," Jones said. "I've always thought he had the potential to be a serious consistent winning coach in the NFL and still think that. I'm just proud that he has structured his staff the way that he has, the way he's coaching them the way he has, I'm glad he's coaching the coaches the way he is. They have a great appreciation for what he's bringing to the table, as it should be. It's his staff. 

"I'm just glad to see him have this kind of success. His players hang on every word and they're seeing what he's preaching works. That's an ideal set of circumstances for a coach that is looking for a big future in the NFL."

Of course, Garrett is not the only contract decision facing Jones and the Cowboys in the offseason. As previously noted, Murray and Bryant are each in the last year of their contracts.

Murray, the NFL’s leading rusher who is making a bid for Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record, will want top running back money. He is certainly going to be in demand on the free-agent market.

Bryant has already demanded top-five receiver money, if not top-three. The Cowboys have already said they would slap him with the franchise tag to keep.

Those two are the team’s top player priorities.

And then there is rejuvenated middle linebacker Rolando McClain, who’s playing on a one-year, $700,000 deal and has already proven worthy of a huge raise.

The Cowboys see him as a key foundation to the future on defense.

The list of offseason decisions continues with tackles Doug Free and Jermey Parnell, linebacker Bruce Carter and Justin Durant, defensive tackle Henry Melton and defensive end George Selvie.

It’s enough to make Jones’ head spin.

But he’s in a very happy place right now and plans to stay there. If the Cowboys keep winning, he won’t have a problem rewarding Garrett and a number of those players with long term deals.

“We’ve got so many contracts that we’re supposed to need to be talking about, now that things are going good,” Jones said. “I’ve got a lifetime of when it’s too much, just sit down and think about it. I’m not even going to begin to start anywhere. I’m just going to squat.”

Right now he’s just going to enjoy the ride and pay them later.

 

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.