Jason Garrett has worn out his welcome in Dallas from a fan’s perspective a long time ago. Jerry Jones patience is now also beginning to wear thin on the long time head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Jason Garrett has vastly underperformed compared to his peers with a similarly long tenure and that is a problem in a results driven business. Jason Garrett’s future is uncertain as he is coaching under the final year of his contract and has yet to earn an extension. Popular opinion is that if Jason Garrett fails to lead the Dallas Cowboys to the NFC championship game at minimum, that he will no longer be the head coach in 2020. Jason Garrett is firmly on the hot seat now. After the performance of his team on Sunday night against the Minnesota Vikings, largely impacted by poor time management and coaching decisions, that may have all but sealed his fate for next season. Will that crucial loss ultimately get Jason Garrett fired from the Dallas Cowboys?
Jason Garrett has been in this position before. In 2014, following a string of 8 win seasons and never having led the team to the playoffs, he earned an extension by exceeding expectations and winning his first division title and playoff game. In 2016, his team survived the loss of their franchise QB Tony Romo and won 13 games led by a rookie QB that the organization stumbled upon in the 4th round of the draft named Dak Prescott. Last season his time in Dallas looked to be at an end after a horrendous 3-5 start led by a stagnant offense and the regression of Dak Prescott. Jason Garrett and the Dallas Cowboys than pulled off the improbable: Seven wins in the final eight games, a third division title, and a playoff victory over Russell Wilson and Seattle Seahawks. Just when all of the doubters were beginning to believe in Jason Garrett again the joy ride came to a sudden halt in the divisional round against the Los Angeles Rams where they were completely run over to the tune of 273 rush yards conceded. Does Jason Garrett have it in him to once again rally the troops and save his job or has his luck run finally out in Dallas?
Taking past history into account, and factoring in the often unpredictable nature of the NFL, I have envisioned a scenario that depicts how this whole Jason Garrett drama will play out. Consider that for all his faults Jason Garrett has never had a team quit on him and has always bounced back when he and his team have performed poorly. That is what will happen again this season. I am not sure if the Cowboys will show up against the Detroit Lions next week but I believe they will come prepared to face the New England Patriots in Foxborough the following week. Jason Garrett will never out coach Bill Belichick in a hundred years but his team does have the ability to punch people in the mouth on occasion. You can’t outcoach physical domination in the trenches and that is how the Dallas Cowboys will upset the Patriots at home. That victory will restore confidence and carry over for the final stretch culminating in a victory over the Eagles in Philly. That victory will be enough to do something that has not been accomplished since 1996… back to back division titles for the Dallas Cowboys.
Winning the NFC East will get the Dallas Cowboys back into the playoffs for the third time in three seasons. Who will be their opponent in the wildcard round? I predict that the Seahawks, Saints, and Packers are the other division winners and that Saints and Seahawks earn first round byes. The two wild card teams will then be the San Francisco 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings. The Dallas Cowboys will be the 4th seed and will draw the 49ers at home. The Dallas Cowboys will win that game in what promises to be a physical matchup that will take a toll on both teams. After that victory, the Cowboys will limp into New Orleans where Jason Garrett will once again fail to advance past the divisional round.
At the conclusion of the season, there will be conflicting opinions about whether or not the 2019 season was successful. There will be heated debate about whether or not Jason Garrett should lose his job. Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper will remain unsigned and will end up being franchise tagged and transition tagged for an additional year. Jerry Jones will wrestle with this decision for weeks. Rumors about hiring Sean Payton, Lincoln Riley, Urban Meyer, and several other former head coaches will swirl endlessly and tickle the hopes of the enduring Dallas Cowboys faithful. In the end, much to the disappointment of the fan base, Jones will decide that Jason Garrett deserves one more shot. Jason Garrett will get one more opportunity on a one year deal to finally bring a championship to the Dallas Cowboys. If his past history is any indicator of how that will play out, it will fail miserably and Dallas Cowboys fans will finally get their wish with Jason Garrett fired at the conclusion of the 2020 season.
That is how it could all play out if history is any indicator of the future. That also happens to be the worst case scenario for the Dallas Cowboys. If it were up to most Dallas Cowboys fans, it is Super Bowl or bust this season. If the Cowboys can’t get over the hump with this roster than Jason Garrett must be fired. Simply put, Jerry Jones cannot afford to waste the small championship window that has presented itself with this talented roster by continuing to give chances to a guy that has not been able to deliver in nearly ten years.
*Photo by Kieth Allison https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
