Dallas Cowboys: Did Jason Garrett Eliminate Competition by Firing Ray Sherman?

"Don't make waves if you want to stick around here" is a quote many have heard around the workplace.

It usually comes from "yes" men—a man or group in a clique that try to silence others, afraid that ownership will see something out of someone else that might hurt their own standing with the company.

Is this the mentality of the newest Cowboys administration under Jason Garrett? Before you say "no," you might want to talk to Terrell Owens.

By now it has been reported that Ray Sherman has been fired by Jason Garrett in a move that has surprised most analysts and media outlets.

The question is, "Why?"

After all, Ray Sherman is not only a wide receivers coach. He has 35 years of coaching experience, as opposed to Garrett (six). He served as the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1998 and the Minnesota Vikings in 1999. Before that he was the offensive coordinator for the Jets in 1994 and the Falcons in 1990.

Just days after the Cowboys interviewed Sherman as a candidate to be their next head coach, Jason Garrett has informed him that his contract would not be renewed and that his services were no longer required.

While Jerry Jones insisted that the Cowboys were in no way attempting to circumvent the "Rooney rule"—the rule requiring that teams interview at least one minority candidate when conducting interviews for a head coaching vacancy—it appears that Sherman never was a serious candidate for the job in Dallas. Or was he?

The real question as to why Sherman was let go remains. This was a man who has coached the likes of Jerry Rice, Chris Carter, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens—not to mention helping Miles Austin improve from a practice squad player to a superstar wide receiver, as well as the rest of the Cowboys wide receivers for the last four years.

It's apparent that finding a more qualified candidate to fill his spot is highly unlikely, so what could be the reasoning for such a move?

Was it that Sherman might have actually wanted the job as head coach?

Or could it be to remove any competition that might whisper in Jerry's ears should the Cowboys offense suffer the same struggles that it has at times during the past four years that Jason Garrett was the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys?

It is no secret that the discipline and work ethic instilled by Bill Parcells began to disappear during the first year of Garrett's tenure as offensive coordinator.

By 2008, when the Cowboys were heralded as "Super Bowl or Bust" during training camp, it often seemed that the offense would stagnate after a great play early in the game, as if the Cowboys thought that other teams would just "quit" at the sight of their offensive prowess.  

The mentality of "60-minute football" began to disappear, and often it seemed as if the Cowboys offense would simply run out of steam in two-and-a-half quarters of play—as opposed to the team we saw under Parcells that would play just as hard in the last two minutes as it did in the first 10.

The Cowboys of 2008 collapsed, missing the playoffs altogether. Terrell Owens was released with the Cowboys still owing him nearly $10 million after he accused Jason Garrett of playing favorites. All the while, Sherman remained the sounding board that Cowboys receivers would vent their frustrations to. 

So is the reasoning for letting Ray Sherman leave so that Jerry won't go to him for advice if the lethargic offense from the first eight games of 2010 that cost the Cowboys the season was to return in 2011?

Now, it is purely speculation as to why Sherman was actually released—but given the release of Owens after the squabble of 2008, it certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Since taking over as head coach, even the Cowboys defensive players have publicly stated that they like Garrett's approach to the game. Now, that is surprising, especially considering it was some of the defensive players who began to publicly question Garrett's handling of the offense in the first eight games of 2010.

It stands to reason that anyone openly calling Garrett out now will likely find themselves out of a job, so it's not surprising that there are no dissenting voices amongst them. However, there are at least a couple that have chosen to remain anonymous that disagree with letting go of Sherman.

And if the Cowboys struggle in 2011 and Jerry begins to rethink his vote of confidence in Garrett, the last person Garrett would want talking to Jerry would be an incumbent coach who might hold a different view of the reasons for the collapse of 2010.

And that's the bottom line.