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Cowlishaw: Jason Garrett far ahead of competition in coaching race
01:04 AM CST on Tuesday, January 4, 2011
COLUMN By TIM COWLISHAW / The Dallas Morning News
wtcowlishaw@dallasnews.com
The eye test says Jason Garrett must continue in his role as Cowboys head coach. You watch the Cowboys play the second half of the 2010 season and you can't possibly think you're watching the same group of players that got this team to 1-7.
But largely it was.
The numbers tests also say Garrett must be retained by owner Jerry Jones . Garrett's No. 1 responsibility when the season began was the offense, and that didn't change on Nov. 8 when Wade Phillips was sent home. There wasn't time for Garrett to bring much more than attitude to a side of the ball he had never coached.
The offense remained Garrett's baby. And the unit finished seventh in the NFL despite the fact that journeyman Jon Kitna and Stephen McGee played the last two-thirds of the season.
The offenses that ranked ahead of Dallas were quarterbacked by: Philip Rivers, Michael Vick , Drew Brees, Matt Schaub and the Manning brothers.
Include in your numbers test the 5-3 record and the closeness of the Dallas defeats (seven points total), and that's more than a passing grade for Garrett. It's an A-plus.
Finally, the competition test puts Garrett over the top.
I am astounded at the number of Cowboys fans who by e-mail or other means continue to tell me that Jones has to seek the services of Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden or (heaven forbid) Jeff Fisher rather than stay the course with the unproven Garrett.
Let me try one final time to put minds at ease on this front before Jones removes Garrett's interim tag this week.
Bill Cowher: Assuming you could interest him in the Cowboys job, I understand the attraction. The jaw, the sneer, the tough guy ... you think all that stuff works and, in some respects, it probably does.
Cowher's record is excellent. He was 1-1 in Super Bowls and would have been 2-0 if Neil O'Donnell hadn't kept drilling passes to a wide-open Larry Brown.
As good as Cowher's Steelers were, they lost a lot of big games. In the Super Bowl era, the only coach ever to lose four conference title games on his home field is Bill Cowher.
Now I recognize the flip side of that coin. Just getting to those conference title games is a significant achievement. It's no sin to lose to Tom Brady or John Elway, either.
Stan Humphries? Well, you'd like to get that one back.
Cowher's difficult to evaluate simply because he coached the Steelers. Having competed with the Cowboys and 49ers as the gold standard in the Super Bowl years, the Steelers blow away both franchises when it comes to finding and keeping quality coaches.
Chuck Noll won four Super Bowls in six years. Cowher didn't inherit a bunch of bums when he got the job. The Steelers were 9-7, 9-7 and 7-9 the years before he beat out Dave Wannstedt for the gig.
And as soon as Cowher left, boom. Super Bowl trophy for Mike Tomlin.
Cowher obviously is a good coach. He also wouldn't have any of the key assistants from his first successful run. And that (see Jimmy Johnson: Dolphins) is always a big deal.
Jon Gruden: Even if you're tired of hearing him say "this guy" on TV, it doesn't mean Gruden needs to coach the Cowboys.
I'm not as down on him as some about his rather woeful Tampa Bay record, but it was all downhill after winning a Super Bowl that first season with the team he inherited from Tony Dungy. The expectation was that the Bucs' offense would only get better with the mastermind Gruden in charge.
It didn't happen. Or anything close to it.
I think he would be fun to watch. I don't know of any reason to believe he would outperform or outwork Garrett.
Jeff Fisher: The tide of support that developed for Fisher as the Titans grew more undisciplined by the week this season never failed to amaze me.
Fisher's a well-spoken guy. Has kind of a neat beard at times. Took a team to the Super Bowl once.
Last century (1999 season).
He last won a playoff game after the '03 season. The last seven years – that's practically a lifetime in today's NFL – the Titans were 0-2 in the playoffs, below .500 in the regular season and a frequent violator of just about every NFL conduct policy. They also were one of four teams penalized more than 1,000 yards in 2010.
Fisher's résumé – at this point – suggests a guy who can give you just about everything you don't want if you're trying to turn around the Cowboys.
When Jones doesn't introduce him as the eighth Cowboys coach this week ... breathe a sigh of relief.
01:04 AM CST on Tuesday, January 4, 2011
COLUMN By TIM COWLISHAW / The Dallas Morning News
wtcowlishaw@dallasnews.com
The eye test says Jason Garrett must continue in his role as Cowboys head coach. You watch the Cowboys play the second half of the 2010 season and you can't possibly think you're watching the same group of players that got this team to 1-7.
But largely it was.
The numbers tests also say Garrett must be retained by owner Jerry Jones . Garrett's No. 1 responsibility when the season began was the offense, and that didn't change on Nov. 8 when Wade Phillips was sent home. There wasn't time for Garrett to bring much more than attitude to a side of the ball he had never coached.
The offense remained Garrett's baby. And the unit finished seventh in the NFL despite the fact that journeyman Jon Kitna and Stephen McGee played the last two-thirds of the season.
The offenses that ranked ahead of Dallas were quarterbacked by: Philip Rivers, Michael Vick , Drew Brees, Matt Schaub and the Manning brothers.
Include in your numbers test the 5-3 record and the closeness of the Dallas defeats (seven points total), and that's more than a passing grade for Garrett. It's an A-plus.
Finally, the competition test puts Garrett over the top.
I am astounded at the number of Cowboys fans who by e-mail or other means continue to tell me that Jones has to seek the services of Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden or (heaven forbid) Jeff Fisher rather than stay the course with the unproven Garrett.
Let me try one final time to put minds at ease on this front before Jones removes Garrett's interim tag this week.
Bill Cowher: Assuming you could interest him in the Cowboys job, I understand the attraction. The jaw, the sneer, the tough guy ... you think all that stuff works and, in some respects, it probably does.
Cowher's record is excellent. He was 1-1 in Super Bowls and would have been 2-0 if Neil O'Donnell hadn't kept drilling passes to a wide-open Larry Brown.
As good as Cowher's Steelers were, they lost a lot of big games. In the Super Bowl era, the only coach ever to lose four conference title games on his home field is Bill Cowher.
Now I recognize the flip side of that coin. Just getting to those conference title games is a significant achievement. It's no sin to lose to Tom Brady or John Elway, either.
Stan Humphries? Well, you'd like to get that one back.
Cowher's difficult to evaluate simply because he coached the Steelers. Having competed with the Cowboys and 49ers as the gold standard in the Super Bowl years, the Steelers blow away both franchises when it comes to finding and keeping quality coaches.
Chuck Noll won four Super Bowls in six years. Cowher didn't inherit a bunch of bums when he got the job. The Steelers were 9-7, 9-7 and 7-9 the years before he beat out Dave Wannstedt for the gig.
And as soon as Cowher left, boom. Super Bowl trophy for Mike Tomlin.
Cowher obviously is a good coach. He also wouldn't have any of the key assistants from his first successful run. And that (see Jimmy Johnson: Dolphins) is always a big deal.
Jon Gruden: Even if you're tired of hearing him say "this guy" on TV, it doesn't mean Gruden needs to coach the Cowboys.
I'm not as down on him as some about his rather woeful Tampa Bay record, but it was all downhill after winning a Super Bowl that first season with the team he inherited from Tony Dungy. The expectation was that the Bucs' offense would only get better with the mastermind Gruden in charge.
It didn't happen. Or anything close to it.
I think he would be fun to watch. I don't know of any reason to believe he would outperform or outwork Garrett.
Jeff Fisher: The tide of support that developed for Fisher as the Titans grew more undisciplined by the week this season never failed to amaze me.
Fisher's a well-spoken guy. Has kind of a neat beard at times. Took a team to the Super Bowl once.
Last century (1999 season).
He last won a playoff game after the '03 season. The last seven years – that's practically a lifetime in today's NFL – the Titans were 0-2 in the playoffs, below .500 in the regular season and a frequent violator of just about every NFL conduct policy. They also were one of four teams penalized more than 1,000 yards in 2010.
Fisher's résumé – at this point – suggests a guy who can give you just about everything you don't want if you're trying to turn around the Cowboys.
When Jones doesn't introduce him as the eighth Cowboys coach this week ... breathe a sigh of relief.