Ex-Cowboys HC Jason Garrett: Joining Giants, Joe Judge as OC 'Just Felt Right'

Ex-Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett quickly found a new job this offseason as the New York Giants' offensive coordinator.

On Saturday, Garrett spoke with John Schmeelk on the Giants Huddle podcast and provided some background on how he joined first-year head coach Joe Judge's staff.

"We had a great day together," Garrett said (h/t Alex Smith of SNY.tv) regarding his interview at the team facility Wednesday.

He added:

"We visited over the phone this past weekend and had a great talk. It was probably one of those talks, and I don't know how long it went, maybe a half hour, 45 minutes, and it probably could have gone all night. Just talking back and forth, getting to know each other a little bit more, talking about football, and that's when we decided that it would be a good idea to come up and spend the day together, and we did that on Wednesday.

"I had a great visit with him, a couple members of the staff, other people in the organization, and it just felt right to me. I felt really comfortable to be around him. I think we have shared values as people and shared values as football coaches and what we want to build with the Giants."

Garrett joins the Giants after nine-and-a-half seasons with the Cowboys. Dallas went 85-67 under his watch and made the playoffs three times.

Dallas parted ways with him in January after an 8-8 season.

Garrett has been an offensive coordinator in the past, working under ex-Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips from 2007 to 2010. He was promoted to head coach after Phillips was fired following a 1-7 start in 2010.

He worked as the Miami Dolphins' quarterbacks coach under Nick Saban from 2005 to 2006 and played in the NFL from 1989 to 2004 as a practice squad member, backup or third-string quarterback.

Garrett's offenses from 2007 to 2009 were largely efficient, ranking second, 11th and second in yards per play in those three years.

The move has received positive reviews from reporters and fans. Of note, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv called it a "great hire," and the Giants Insider Newspaper & Podcast called it a "solid" move.

ESPN's Jordan Raanan offered a balanced take:

As for what Giants fans should expect of their new offense, Garrett provided a sneak preview in his interview with Schmeelk.

"The first thing we want to do is you want to attack defenses different ways, and that starts with run and pass. You want to be as balanced as you can be.

"And then within the running game you want to be able to do different things...with the emphasis on attacking different ways, but the foundation of that is being physical. We want to be a physical football team, and that's how it starts."

Garrett will have some work to do to fix an offense that ranked just 23rd in DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) last year, per Football Outsiders.

On the plus side, he has talent to work with, including quarterback Daniel Jones, running back Saquon Barkley and breakout rookie receiver Darius Slayton.

The Giants' coordinators are set with Garrett running the offense, ex-Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Patrick Graham running the other side of the ball and special teams coach Thomas McGaughey being retained.