Dallas Cowboys: Burning Questions Jason Garrett Must Answer Before Next Season

The 2010 Dallas Cowboys are officially in the record books. The Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles to end their season on a high note and finished at 6-10. Nowhere near where they wanted to be, but a heck of an accomplishment considering the team started 1-7.

No Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Jon Kitna, Marcus Spears and others to contribute, and the ‘Boys still made it to six wins. What’s most interesting for the team is that they were able to win five games with Jason Garrett as head coach and only one with brother Wade Phillips as head man.

So where do the Cowboys go from here? Well, first Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has to hire a permanent head coach. Reports have surfaced that Garrett will have the interim tag removed from his title, but Jones still has to interview a minority candidate to satisfy the National Football League’s Rooney rule. Once that task has been completed, all signs point to Garrett being named Cowboys head coach.

Now that we have that out of the way, what about the roster? The Cowboys draft position will fall anywhere between five and 13, which will give them a shot at a few guys high on plenty of people's draft boards.

That also means the Cowboys will have to pay top dollar for their first-round pick. There is the secondary, the offensive line, the defensive line, special teams, kicker and running back. Doug Free looks pretty settled on the left side of the offensive line, but Marc Colombo and Leonard Davis have looked plain old this season.

Former Pro Bowl cornerback Mike Jenkins was beaten, battered and abused in numerous games, and his counterpart Terrance Newman looks as if he’s starting to wear a little. So, not only will Jason be in charge of trying to take this team to the Super Bowl, but he may have a major team overhaul on his hands.

Is Garrett OK with releasing Marion Barber and, if so, who will serve as the ‘Boys bruising back?

Before the roster is even touched, there is the issue of assistant coaches. If and when Jason is promoted, who will serve as the offensive coordinator? If Ray Sherman isn’t made head coach, then will he take over as offensive coordinator? If he does, will Jason still call the plays? Will Paul Pasqualoni remain as coordinator after the Cowboys defense played so poorly? If he’s fired, then who will replace him?

Yeah, remember that hope all Cowboys fans had before the 2010 season? Yeah? Remember that sense of emptiness fans had after that 1-7 start? Welcome to the offseason, fans, because before talk of the Super Bowl begins these questions and many more will have to be answered.

How much control will Garrett have over personnel? Does Jason want improvements on the offensive line over the secondary and, if so, is that what Jerry wants?

Mr. Garrett, I wish you luck on your next journey, sir, but this may be more than you bargained for in the end.

The 2011 Dallas Cowboys may turn out to be a bigger mess than the 2010 version.

-JH

Join Jason every Monday night at 8pm ET for “Monday Night Quarterback” on www.blogtalkradio.com/cowboyjay.

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