sbk92
2
- Messages
- 12,134
- Reaction score
- 6
By TIM COWLISHAW / The Dallas Morning News
wtcowlishaw@dallasnews.com
Even with Jerry Jones making the right decision, removing the interim tag from Jason Garrett's head coaching title, he was left to face the biggest sales job of his 22 years as Cowboys owner.
It was about 15 minutes into the Garrett news conference that three of the four local network affiliates stifled a collective yawn and returned to soap operas and regular programming. Only CBS-11 stayed the course for nearly half an hour.
Simply put, Garrett seems the right man for the job. But it's not the sexiest hire to Cowboys fans who have been drooling over the image of a Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden walking the Dallas sideline.
Garrett is the better fit than those Super Bowl-winning coaches, and all you really need to do to understand that is look around the NFL playoff scene this weekend. Seattle's Pete Carroll, returning to the NFL after a successful (if we can still call it that) run at Southern Cal, is the exception. The other seven head coaches were NFL assistants and coordinators and are head coaches for the first time.
But the fact that the Garrett hire is the most logical way to go doesn't sell tickets. Thus, we get back to Jerry's biggest sales job.
Since Jones arrived on the scene seven head coaches ago, I have underestimated his ability to get Cowboys fans to buy what he's selling too many times. You would think I would have learned my lesson this season after seeing sellout crowds fill Jones' giant playpen even in November and December for meaningless games.
But here's why Jones now has a real task on his hands, one he only began Thursday by trying to suggest Garrett would have unprecedented power over assistant coaching hires.
With each passing season, the trip to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington loses a bit of its charm. In 2009, the stadium filled itself. And deservedly so. What Jones – and the always willing Arlington taxpayers – built during these economic times still boggles the mind.
This season the Cowboys were coming off their first playoff win since the 1996 season. There was lots of Cowboys-to-the-Super Bowl talk going around (one final apology here for my share of that). Tickets in the off-season were hot commodities.
Now we are two years into the new stadium. If you've wanted to see it, you've probably seen it by now. For thousands of curious fans, that novelty aspect has faded.
I'm not sure the schedule of visiting teams has more than a minimal impact on ticket sales, but this slate – Buffalo, Detroit, St. Louis, Seattle and Miami – certainly won't be pulling in fans of the most popular or currently successful teams.
On top of that, you throw in the likable but familiar face of Garrett. At least some of the other coaches will remain in place. Whatever happens, it will not represent the wholesale change that an outside hire with a Super Bowl ring would have brought to town.
The looming lockout means that most of the NFL news once we get past this Super Bowl will be bad. The notion of millionaire players and billionaire owners squabbling over shares of the sports world's biggest pie is the sort of thing that most angers and alienates fans.
The longer it drags on, the easier it will be for Cowboys fans on the fringe to shift their focus to the Rangers, to college football, to less expensive pursuits more readily available.
Making the right hire with Garrett should pay dividends for Jones in the long run.
But there is a short term to deal with here. The Cowboys are neither a good team nor one that figures to look dramatically different on offense in 2011.
Salesman Jerry has a lot of work to do. And one of his greatest tasks is to illustrate how he's no longer the one in charge of all the work.
wtcowlishaw@dallasnews.com
Even with Jerry Jones making the right decision, removing the interim tag from Jason Garrett's head coaching title, he was left to face the biggest sales job of his 22 years as Cowboys owner.
It was about 15 minutes into the Garrett news conference that three of the four local network affiliates stifled a collective yawn and returned to soap operas and regular programming. Only CBS-11 stayed the course for nearly half an hour.
Simply put, Garrett seems the right man for the job. But it's not the sexiest hire to Cowboys fans who have been drooling over the image of a Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden walking the Dallas sideline.
Garrett is the better fit than those Super Bowl-winning coaches, and all you really need to do to understand that is look around the NFL playoff scene this weekend. Seattle's Pete Carroll, returning to the NFL after a successful (if we can still call it that) run at Southern Cal, is the exception. The other seven head coaches were NFL assistants and coordinators and are head coaches for the first time.
But the fact that the Garrett hire is the most logical way to go doesn't sell tickets. Thus, we get back to Jerry's biggest sales job.
Since Jones arrived on the scene seven head coaches ago, I have underestimated his ability to get Cowboys fans to buy what he's selling too many times. You would think I would have learned my lesson this season after seeing sellout crowds fill Jones' giant playpen even in November and December for meaningless games.
But here's why Jones now has a real task on his hands, one he only began Thursday by trying to suggest Garrett would have unprecedented power over assistant coaching hires.
With each passing season, the trip to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington loses a bit of its charm. In 2009, the stadium filled itself. And deservedly so. What Jones – and the always willing Arlington taxpayers – built during these economic times still boggles the mind.
This season the Cowboys were coming off their first playoff win since the 1996 season. There was lots of Cowboys-to-the-Super Bowl talk going around (one final apology here for my share of that). Tickets in the off-season were hot commodities.
Now we are two years into the new stadium. If you've wanted to see it, you've probably seen it by now. For thousands of curious fans, that novelty aspect has faded.
I'm not sure the schedule of visiting teams has more than a minimal impact on ticket sales, but this slate – Buffalo, Detroit, St. Louis, Seattle and Miami – certainly won't be pulling in fans of the most popular or currently successful teams.
On top of that, you throw in the likable but familiar face of Garrett. At least some of the other coaches will remain in place. Whatever happens, it will not represent the wholesale change that an outside hire with a Super Bowl ring would have brought to town.
The looming lockout means that most of the NFL news once we get past this Super Bowl will be bad. The notion of millionaire players and billionaire owners squabbling over shares of the sports world's biggest pie is the sort of thing that most angers and alienates fans.
The longer it drags on, the easier it will be for Cowboys fans on the fringe to shift their focus to the Rangers, to college football, to less expensive pursuits more readily available.
Making the right hire with Garrett should pay dividends for Jones in the long run.
But there is a short term to deal with here. The Cowboys are neither a good team nor one that figures to look dramatically different on offense in 2011.
Salesman Jerry has a lot of work to do. And one of his greatest tasks is to illustrate how he's no longer the one in charge of all the work.
