Dez Bryant: Cowboys Are 'Real Contenders' After Moving on from HC Jason Garrett

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant believes letting Jason Garrett leave will be addition by subtraction for the team.

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reported Sunday the Cowboys officially moved on from Garrett. Bryant reacted by saying Dallas "just became real contenders":

Bryant was a rookie in 2010 when Garrett replaced Wade Phillips as head coach in the middle of the season.

As the Cowboys slumped to an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs, he joined the critics who called Garrett's impact into question:

Plenty of fans probably agree with his assessment, too. Time and again Garrett's skeptics have questioned whether he was making the most out of the talent at his disposal. The 2019 season served as a case in point.

Football Outsiders ranked Dallas sixth in overall efficiency. The Cowboys were the only top-10 team that failed to qualify for the postseason. Despite having four Pro Bowlers and one of the NFL's most explosive offenses, they failed to win a division where nine wins was enough to claim first place.

After Dallas relinquished control of the NFC East to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16, DeMarcus Lawrence didn't specifically call Garrett out but told reporters, "Talent without a direction is nothing at all."

Now, the Cowboys will get to test Bryant's hypothesis as they look for Garrett's replacement. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Saturday they had reached out to former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis to start their search.