Fans passing through the northern entrance to AT&T Stadium often stop and take pictures of the Tom Landry statue, a larger-than-life depiction in which Tom gazes off to the west, perhaps wondering why there's a Wal-Mart next to a football stadium.
Beyond that, at least for a moment, Tom looks as fully in charge as he did for most of his 29 years at the helm. It would be unfair to compare any Cowboys coach to one of the game's great innovators on both sides of the ball, and yet ...
Even at 8-4 with the Cowboys enjoying their finest season since 2009, which just happens to be the only year the team has won a playoff game this century, questions about Jason Garrett surface after every defeat. This is especially true after a no-show performance in the biggest division contest of the season on Thanksgiving Day.
I'm not talking about the always popular question of job security. You can forget about that for now.
Even if Thursday signaled that this team is ready to unravel, even it misses the playoffs for a fifth straight season for the first time since 1986-90 (the era in which this team was placed in the hands of Jerry Jones), Garrett's not going anywhere.
Rest assured that when the Cowboys play their ninth game sometime late October or early November in 2015, Garrett will have served as head coach longer than any man since Landry. That's going to happen.
Jones has left himself no real options on this front since there's no likelihood he sees promoting either of his coordinators, Rod Marinelli or Scott Linehan, as even a short-term answer. Besides, if this team truly falls apart in December, they won't be having their greatest month, anyway.
I don't see this thing completely going that direction, even after the 33-10 loss to the Eagles. My guess today would be a 10-6 finish that leaves the team just shy of the playoffs again (Detroit has a softer schedule, and I'm betting Arizona, which owns a win over Dallas, slips to the other wild-card spot).
All that aside, the reason Garrett's situation comes up is twofold. One, the Cowboys were just undressed by Chip Kelly's innovative offense while Dallas tried to prove to the world it will run the ball in all situations.
Garrett has been a good offensive coordinator in his time with Dallas, but he lacks the experience to bring the kind of game-changing creativity Kelly has delivered in Philadelphia. And to some degree, he now lacks the ability to put his in-game stamp on the club.
Beyond that, Garrett continues to commit the unpardonable sin of putting his quarterback at risk when there is nothing to gain, then follows by showing a lack of awareness that resting Tony Romo should even have been considered.
He had Romo taking sacks in the fourth quarter in London, long after Jacksonville had been put to rest. This was after Romo had missed the previous game with small fractures in his surgically repaired back.
Against the Eagles, it was worse.
Garrett sent Romo back onto the field to throw passes (and risk sacks) with nothing to gain beyond the possible extension of a hollow touchdown-passing streak. Garrett said he believed Romo came out with around six minutes to go, and until that time Dallas was still trying to win the game.
Actually, Romo's last snap came with 4:21 to go in a game the Cowboys were trailing by 23 points. Only his interception got him to the safety of the bench.
I know other coaches make this mistake, but not all of them have 34-year-old quarterbacks with back problems.
I also understand the physical nature of the game, the need for a leader to weather tough times and all the rest. But if the Cowboys are going to treat Romo with kid gloves during the week, limiting his practice time as much as possible (a good decision), why would you want him on the field in any kind of November blowout with the risk of putting this team in the hands of Brandon Weeden in December?
Garrett is like the running quarterback who wants to prove himself a pocket passer and forgets what makes him effective. A Princeton grad, Garrett is exceptionally smart on any number of issues, but he prefers to pass himself off as a toughness-is-all-that-counts guy, the same way a rural Texas high school coach would.
But any discussion of a Cowboys head coach becomes something of a conundrum as you recognize that, in other situations, struggles can fall on the shoulders of the general manager. That doesn't happen here, which shines the spotlight even brighter on the head coach despite his lack of authority relative to the same position on other NFL clubs.
The bottom line: The Landry statue won't have a Garrett statue to look at any time soon. But Garrett's not going anywhere even if a promising season gets derailed in December.
On Twitter:
@TimCowlishaw
Beyond that, at least for a moment, Tom looks as fully in charge as he did for most of his 29 years at the helm. It would be unfair to compare any Cowboys coach to one of the game's great innovators on both sides of the ball, and yet ...
Even at 8-4 with the Cowboys enjoying their finest season since 2009, which just happens to be the only year the team has won a playoff game this century, questions about Jason Garrett surface after every defeat. This is especially true after a no-show performance in the biggest division contest of the season on Thanksgiving Day.
I'm not talking about the always popular question of job security. You can forget about that for now.
Even if Thursday signaled that this team is ready to unravel, even it misses the playoffs for a fifth straight season for the first time since 1986-90 (the era in which this team was placed in the hands of Jerry Jones), Garrett's not going anywhere.
Rest assured that when the Cowboys play their ninth game sometime late October or early November in 2015, Garrett will have served as head coach longer than any man since Landry. That's going to happen.
Jones has left himself no real options on this front since there's no likelihood he sees promoting either of his coordinators, Rod Marinelli or Scott Linehan, as even a short-term answer. Besides, if this team truly falls apart in December, they won't be having their greatest month, anyway.
I don't see this thing completely going that direction, even after the 33-10 loss to the Eagles. My guess today would be a 10-6 finish that leaves the team just shy of the playoffs again (Detroit has a softer schedule, and I'm betting Arizona, which owns a win over Dallas, slips to the other wild-card spot).
All that aside, the reason Garrett's situation comes up is twofold. One, the Cowboys were just undressed by Chip Kelly's innovative offense while Dallas tried to prove to the world it will run the ball in all situations.
Garrett has been a good offensive coordinator in his time with Dallas, but he lacks the experience to bring the kind of game-changing creativity Kelly has delivered in Philadelphia. And to some degree, he now lacks the ability to put his in-game stamp on the club.
Beyond that, Garrett continues to commit the unpardonable sin of putting his quarterback at risk when there is nothing to gain, then follows by showing a lack of awareness that resting Tony Romo should even have been considered.
He had Romo taking sacks in the fourth quarter in London, long after Jacksonville had been put to rest. This was after Romo had missed the previous game with small fractures in his surgically repaired back.
Against the Eagles, it was worse.
Garrett sent Romo back onto the field to throw passes (and risk sacks) with nothing to gain beyond the possible extension of a hollow touchdown-passing streak. Garrett said he believed Romo came out with around six minutes to go, and until that time Dallas was still trying to win the game.
Actually, Romo's last snap came with 4:21 to go in a game the Cowboys were trailing by 23 points. Only his interception got him to the safety of the bench.
I know other coaches make this mistake, but not all of them have 34-year-old quarterbacks with back problems.
I also understand the physical nature of the game, the need for a leader to weather tough times and all the rest. But if the Cowboys are going to treat Romo with kid gloves during the week, limiting his practice time as much as possible (a good decision), why would you want him on the field in any kind of November blowout with the risk of putting this team in the hands of Brandon Weeden in December?
Garrett is like the running quarterback who wants to prove himself a pocket passer and forgets what makes him effective. A Princeton grad, Garrett is exceptionally smart on any number of issues, but he prefers to pass himself off as a toughness-is-all-that-counts guy, the same way a rural Texas high school coach would.
But any discussion of a Cowboys head coach becomes something of a conundrum as you recognize that, in other situations, struggles can fall on the shoulders of the general manager. That doesn't happen here, which shines the spotlight even brighter on the head coach despite his lack of authority relative to the same position on other NFL clubs.
The bottom line: The Landry statue won't have a Garrett statue to look at any time soon. But Garrett's not going anywhere even if a promising season gets derailed in December.
On Twitter:
@TimCowlishaw
