In his 10 years as head coach, Jason Garrett didn’t get the Dallas Cowboys to a Super Bowl and as a result, they parted ways with him this January.
But that doesn’t mean Garrett should go on the scrap heap of NFL coaches. He is very competent football man and when the New York Giants were able to land him as their new offensive coordinator, many discounted the move as another familiar hire for the Giants and a demotion for Garrett.
What many are glossing over is what Garrett actually achieved in Dallas and what he brings north to the Giants.
In his Monday column this week, Peter King of FMIA outlined exactly what the Giants are getting and the Cowboys are losing.
Dallas was sixth in the NFL in scoring last year, first in total yards.
Since the Ezekiel Elliott/Dak Prescott draft in 2016, Dallas is 40-24 in the last four regular seasons, and the Cowboys’ average finish in those four years was 10th in total yards, 12th in points scored. You might think that’s not good enough, which is fair, but it is, on average, top third of the league.
Prescott and Russell Wilson have each played all 64 regular-season games since 2016. Comparing Prescott’s 64 starts to Wilson’s 64 starts since 2016, Prescott has 19 more passing yards and is 1.5 percent more accurate.
Prescott was picked 109 slots after Paxton Lynch in 2016, and 84 slots after Christian Hackenberg.
Looking at the Giants’ roster they actually have similar offensive personnel to the Cowboys. In fact, they might even be on a par with some of the teams at the top third of the league.
Elliott and Barkley are two of the top three backs in the NFL (Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey is the other). Both teams have solid veteran wide receiver groups but with Dallas adding CeeDee Lamb in the draft, they now have the edge. The Giants, however, might have the edge at tight end with Evan Engram (if he can stay healthy).
The Cowboys have more talent on the offensive line, but the Giants are closing the gap. They hired Dallas’ offensive line coach (Marc Columbo), signed their swing tackle (Cam Fleming) and used their first, third and fifth round draft picks to select Andrew Thomas, Matt Peart and Shane Lemieux to a group that already has Kevin Zeitler, Will Hernandez and Nate Solder.
The key for Garrett is to right the ship on second-year quarterback Daniel Jones, a top-ten pick who simply needs to make better decisions with the football and increase his ball security which is being prioritized this offseason.
In short, Garrett is walking into a pretty fair situation in New York. They simply need direction and discipline. If Garrett can get Jones to take that next step, this hire will no longer be glossed over. Instead, it will be considered another misstep by Dallas and a coup by the Giants.
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