Coaching Changes for the Cowboys

If a professional sports team has any kind of success during a given season one thing that is bound to happen is an exodus of its coaching staff. This doesn’t necessarily occur because the coaches want to leave but rather because other teams, which didn’t have success, hire them away. It happened to the mid 90’s Cowboys and is happening to this year’s Cowboy team.

Jason Garrett, Dallas’ offensive coordinator, was one of the coaches that had a huge hand in the success the team enjoyed this year. The offense didn’t really add much from last year, except o-lineman Leonard Davis, but the play calling of Garrett help the Dallas offense roll through the regular season to a 13-3 record. Garrett is highly thought of around the NFL and actually interviewed for the head coaching job for 2 different teams last week: Atlanta and Baltimore. Atlanta is in a state of disarray with their star player, Michael Vick, in jail for the next couple of years and their former head coach, Bobby Petrino (a weasel for sure), bolted for the head gig of the University of Arkansas after coaching less than 1 season. Baltimore doesn’t look much better due to few offensive weapons and an aging defense. When it came down to it, Jerry Jones got Garrett to stay by making him the highest paid coordinator in the NFL. Jones also gave him the title Asst. Head Coach.

I assume Jerry also made Garrett the promise that he would be the next head coach of the Cowboys. That’s all well and good however we don’t know when that will be. If Dallas goes to the NFC Championship or even the Super Bowl next year and loses, does Jerry have the brass to fire Wade Phillips? I guess so…I mean anyone who could fire an NFL icon like Tom Landry can fire anyone at anytime. But you get my point. If Dallas has the same success next year, Garrett will be at the top of everyone’s list of head coaching prospects. Will Jerry be able to fend off another attack trying to pry Garrett away from Big D? Probably not.

Part of me thinks Garrett made the right move in staying and part of me thinks he should have taken one of the head coaching jobs offered to him. As I said above, the other two teams Garrett interviewed with are major rebuilding projects and it is not a given that he would be successful. However, with the current offensive personnel in Dallas, Garrett knows he can be highly successful, as he was this year (up until December that is…). However, in the coaching profession, you have to strike while you’re hot. The top name this year could fall off the map next year depending on what the team does. I don’t think that is the last head coaching job Garrett will be offered but you never know in this business.

Other coaching changes for Dallas essentially amounted to a trade with Miami. Tony Sparano who was the Asst. Head Coach/offensive line coach last year with Dallas became Miami’s head coach while Dallas brought back Hudson Houck to once again coach the offensive line. During his first stint with the Cowboys, Houck coached the offensive line from 1993 to 2001. Houck was a great signing because he knows the organization, has worked with Jason Garrett and is one of the better o-line coaches in the league.