The shoe hasn’t dropped, but it appears that more people have gathered outside the lobby of the Dallas Cowboys tower of never-ending drama, waiting for an Italian-leather loafer to hit the marble floor. All week, there has been speculation over whether or not the Cowboys are going to relieve head coach Jason Garrett of his duties, let him leave the franchise or reassign him somewhere else in the organization.
Fueled by Jerry Jones himself saying no door was shut on Garrett’s future with the organization, as reported by USA Today’s Jori Epstein, the crazy has crescendoed all week. Now, the biggest sports media entity has weighed in, after four days of confusion. ESPN’s Ed Werder tweeted on Thursday night the Cowboys are expected to come to a decision soon and it’s expected Garrett will no longer be part of the organization.
Source: #Cowboys Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones have moved slowly and with “abundance of care and respect” for Jason Garrett. That phase expected to conclude soon with Garrett not part of organization. Next phase to involve candidate interviews will begin quickly thereafter.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) January 3, 2020
The tweet is not saying that it has happened yet; according to Werder’s source, it will likely conclude with Garrett being out. However Garrett is still on hand, working through a week of exit interviews with his players.
Still, ESPN proper decided to take their reporters words and enhance them a bit, tweeting out a Breaking News alert that the decision had been made.
Breaking: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones have decided that Jason Garrett will not be part of the organization moving forward, a source tells @WerderEdESPN. pic.twitter.com/zXf4n1I8kc
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 3, 2020
Words matter, and considering ESPN sources had the Jacksonville Jaguars firing head coach Doug Marrone last weekend, and then had to backtrack that report on Wednesday, there’s plenty of reason to have a long pause before fully ingesting the leap of ideas here.
The Garrett Watch has now entered Day 5 with no official word from the club.
And at this hour no one has confirmed that a conversation has transpired with Jason Garrett to suggest ANY final decision. Players said he said “goodbye without saying goodbye” Monday. It’s been a strange week folks. It’s like it’s going to happen but no word yet that it has. https://t.co/3BGQ9Pqd2Z
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) January 3, 2020
If anyone thinks this is an absurdly long delay, it’s because it is.
Since the 2014 season, the longest any team has waited to announce a head coach wasn't returning was three days after their season ended (Tampa with Lovie Smith following the 2015 season). Every other team announced same day or the day after.
Dallas' season ended four days ago.
— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) January 2, 2020
With all the reports swirling, it’s pretty clear the long delay after the season ended has the Cowboys considering something about retaining Garrett, but the degree is unknown. Perhaps Werder’s source has learned some new information, that if Garrett and Dallas were unable to find a role for him, they are now ready to part ways.
There have been reports of players being confused by the language Garrett used in his exit interviews with players, telling some about the club’s plans for them next season. That’s not seen as something a departing coach would do, but Garrett remains an employee of the organization and it may just be his way to keep coaching like he has a job until he doesn’t.
Garrett’s contract doesn’t officially end until January 14, 2020, which is likely aiding in some of the confusion.
For now, the watch is still on.
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