The Dallas Cowboys have yet to announce what their plans are for the head coaching position in 2020. It’s eerily reminiscent to what happened back then, but crazily enough, things aren’t anywhere near as dramatic as they were when head coach Jason Garrett was left in limbo. Here’s an article from Day 3 of the ordeal, the Wednesday following that season’s finale, laying out the weirdness of that process.
There has never been a date more perfectly suited to the currently-unfolding chapter in Dallas Cowboys history than January 1, 2020. It’s resolutely looking ahead, and it’s self-reflective hindsight… all neatly manifested in a single square on the calendar. And on this New Year’s Day, all of Cowboys Nation is staring into the unknown expectantly, tantalized by the possibilities of the blank slate that lies ahead, wondering what successes the future may have in store.
But after two surreal days at The Star that closed out a maddening year and a frustrating decade for America’s Team, we’re also completely mystified and baffled, at a loss to explain exactly what has transpired to bring us here. Because as absurd as it would have sounded at so many moments during the season, it is now 2020… and, inexplicably, Jason Garrett is still the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
It defies logic and rational explanation. It has birthed a breaking-news mentality, with media camped out at the team facility and fans refreshing news feeds as they breathlessly await word from on high. It has launched bizarre conspiracy theories and fueled wild speculation.
How much confusion currently surrounds the Cowboys coaching conundrum as it enters its third day? Snopes.com, the popular online fact-checking source that specializes in debunking urban legends and validating internet rumors, had to address the trending claim that “Jason Garrett is out as Dallas Cowboys’ coach.”
For what it’s worth, the website classifies the claim as “unproven.” But it also says, “We will update this story when more information becomes available.”
At the current rate, that could be a while.
The 2019 roller coaster limped to an 8-8 halt on Sunday, giving fans the final thrill of a resounding win over Washington, but coupling it with the helpless disappointment of watching via scoreboard ticker as Philadelphia captured the division with their win in New York. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wouldn’t speak to Garrett’s employment status on Sunday evening, even while he talked about the imminent “disbanding” of the team.
As Black Monday dawned in front offices around the league, Garrett himself called in to his regular weekly segment on Dallas radio. He was upbeat and honest, offering more of a public peek behind the curtain than is usual for him as he gave a postmortem explanation of the season.
“I think the overarching explanation is we weren’t consistent enough,” Garrett said, via the team’s official website. “We weren’t consistent enough throughout the year from game to game. We weren’t consistent enough within games. We didn’t do the things that winning football teams do. We have a basic formula for winning that we talk a lot about. You have to win the ball, you have to win the big plays, you have to win the fourth quarter. And often times when you pull back after a ball game to evaluate those three statistics, those will be the deciding factors in games.”
Also in seasons… and sometimes in careers, no one had to say out loud.
But in that interview, Garrett did reveal that his Monday was set to include an address to the team, to be followed by a sit-down meeting with Jerry and Stephen Jones. Everyone, everyone, everyone thought they knew precisely what that meant for the 53-year-old coach whose contract officially expires on January 14, according to reports.
But Monday afternoon came and went with no official announcement. For a brief moment, chaos reigned. One Dallas reporter tweeted out an update that the Joneses had fired the entire Cowboys coaching staff, citing a text message from a source. That story was dismantled within the hour, but uncertainty was the mood of the day.
The details of what Garrett and the Joneses discussed on Monday did not leak out. Garrett, however, did talk to several members of his coaching staff, reportedly reminding those who- like himself- had expiring contracts that they were within their rights to explore opportunities elsewhere. He also apparently told those coaches that the situation in Dallas would be sorted out “within 24 to 48 hours.”
As media members were sent home from team headquarters on Monday with no news to report, the general feeling was that the Joneses were allowing Garrett to say his goodbyes to everyone after being in the building every workday since January 2007 (and with the team as a player for seven seasons in the ’90s, and around the team- for whom his dad was a scout- since he was 21). Garrett wanting the time to conduct a full and proper exit interview with each and every player, even on his own way out the door, suddenly seemed like the most Jason Garrett thing ever. Respect the process, even when it ends with packing your own desk into a cardboard box.
And granting Garrett that time seemed like a very Jerry move. Garrett is family as far as the 77-year-old owner is concerned. This isn’t a firing, it’s a mutual parting of ways. An amicable divorce. Sad, but unavoidable. A long-term investment in a relationship that ultimately didn’t pan out as hoped. There’s no reason to not say goodbye with class.
The fact that other teams were already moving quickly to fill coaching roles hinted at the notion that the Joneses must already have a plan in mind. If Ron Rivera and Jack Del Rio don’t figure into the Cowboys’ immediate future, if Garrett is being allowed to take a slow victory lap, many fans surmised, it must mean that the club’s next target is not out there taking interviews. Maybe because he’s with an NFL team in the postseason. Maybe because he’s a college coach with a gentleman’s agreement already in place. Maybe because he’s currently working in the CBS broadcast booth, or he’s still cleaning out his locker of No. 82 jerseys.
Yes, with every minute that passes without an announcement, the Cowboys’ fans’ list of “prospective” coaches gets longer and crazier.
One theory even held that the Joneses had offered Garrett a front office job, to keep him in the organization and off another team’s sideline. It’s no secret that Jerry desperately wants to ultimately be proven right about his strong belief in Garrett and his football acumen. Monday’s non-announcement would give Garrett the chance to go home and talk it over with his family.
The Joneses bagging their regular Tuesday radio phone-ins didn’t do much to quiet the noise.
Tuesday brought the promise of another meeting between Garrett and the Joneses. But once again, that meeting brought no new information or changes to Garrett’s employment status or the Dallas coaching staff (although passing game coordinator Kris Richard is now slated to interview with the Giants). A second full day of no movement. Lather, rinse, repeat.
But what had been seen just a day prior as a class move and a respectful handling of a tense situation had started to look like just more evidence of the dysfunction in Dallas. Why was this dragging out? Why not give exiting assistants the full chance to throw their hats in the ring with the other teams currently scrambling to fill sideline slots? Why not make a definitive statement about starting a new chapter in the history of the Dallas Cowboys? How long can it possibly take for Garrett to say goodbye to everyone? Was Jerry getting cold feet and considering retaining Garrett as coach after all? Has Garrett somehow saved himself?
Or is this just the very beginning of a long and painfully slow process?
As Garrett Watch enters its third day, it’s safe to say that no one really knows what’s going to happen, even though it seemed obvious as recently as Monday. Wild Card Weekend is just hours away, yet Jerry Jones has the spotlight shining directly on his .500 team that isn’t even in the dance. The collection of memes poking fun at the wait-and-wait-and-wait-and-see situation grows by the hour. Even those who cover the team or know the Joneses personally are simply along for the ride now.
January 1 is traditionally a day to turn over a new leaf. Give up a bad habit. Let go of the past. Try something new. Resolve to be better. Look to the future.
But right now, the Dallas Cowboys are stuck right where they have been.
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