Hire Jason Garrett Now

I know, I know.  It is only one game.  But I am going on blog-record now and saying it.

Jerry Jones needs to remove the Interim label, and hire Jason Garrett as the permanent Head Coach of the
Dallas Cowboys, and now!

Madness, you say?  Too early to judge?  Let him succeed or fail first?  We should hire a big-name Super Bowl winning coach?  Jon has finally lost his football cracker??  Nope, nope, nope, nope, and NOPE!
And here's why.

First, consider recent Super Bowl winning coaches.  How did Jimmy Johnson's stint in Miami wind up?  Did Bill Parcels win another trophy in Dallas?  How about George Siefert, Mike Ditka, or the second coming of Joe Gibbs to the hated Redskins?  Nope, not a one of them won another Super Bowl with their new teams.  Heck, they did not come close.  What causes us to believe Jon Gruden, Bill Cowher, Brian Billick, or Tony Dungy would not suffer the same fate as these retreads?  Oh sure, these four can coach, but so could all the others who failed to win the big one again.

Then consider recent successful coaches.  They are a new breed of recently-promoted assistants and first-timers that are hitting it big time.  The guys that know who to baby and who to baby-sit.  Sean Payton and Mike Tomlin have won Super Bowls, and guys like Rex Ryan, Steve Spagnulo, Mike Smith, and Mike McCarthy are all coaching playoff-contenting teams.

Nope, recent history says hiring the big-name coach won't do it by itself, in fact, just the opposite might be true.  Sure, not every assistant will hit it big time (evidenced by Dave Campo), but they have had more success than recent retreads by a mile.

So next, let's look at why Wade Phillips was such an epic fail.  No structure.  No accountability.  No discipline.  No meaningful preparation.  Too soft.  Too relaxed.  Too laid-back.  And how does Jason Garrett remedy that without going too far and micromanaging (a la Bill Parcels)?  Nothing drastic, just a few basic changes to get the blood flowing, to instill a sense of personal responsibility.  Changing the practice times, check.  Traveling in coat and tie, check.  Faster pace and pads in practice, check.  No lolly-gagging between drills, i.e. you run, check.  Being great in pre-game prep, check.  Finding that balance of situational leadership, where some players need structure and others are mature enough to be responsible for themselves, check.  All of it culminating in a win??  Check-mate.  Clearly, Jason is already changing the mentality from prima donnas who do what they want, to a team playing and practicing hard for each other, that has pride in what they do and do it to the best of their ability.  He's been with this team long enough to know who he can be buddies with, and who needs a good swift kick.  He's already doing it.  Good start.

And final point to consider, Jason was part of the Dallas Cowboys when they last won a Super Bowl.  He's been there, seen how to win one first hand, from the sidelines, knows what it means to do it as a Dallas Cowboy and handle that added stress.  And the beauty of him being the 3rd stringer back then means he got to witness it all, soak it all in, think and learn.  He's no dummy, being a Princeton grad and all...clearly, he's smarter than the average football player.  I am willing to bet he spent every waking second listening, learning, internalizing what he would do in the same situations, debating what calls he would make, storing away how he will take the successes he's been apart of and turn them into another Super Bowl winning team when he gets his shot at coaching.  Make no mistake, he's been preparing for just this moment his whole football career, and being part of Super Bowl winning teams has prepared him.  He's ready.

But don't take my word for it, check out what Michael Irvin, his teammate, has to say about this:  "I know Jason Garrett got to where Jason Garrett got to with hard work on the football field. I know he understands what it takes on the football field - on the football field Jason Garrett knows what it takes. He wears a ring on his finger that says, 'I know, I was here.' All Jason has to do is implement what he saw, then get rid of what they are doing now, period - period.  If I'm Jason, I'm saying to these guys, 'Guys I'm going back to what I know worked then. We are going back to practicing like I know how to practice. We are going back to paying attention to the details and practice like I know how we used to do it and it earned us Super Bowls. And I think guys will receive that because they are looking for guidance and understanding, too."

Change has begun in Dallas Cowboy land.  Jason is instrumenting that change.  He deserves the opportunity beyond this year to implement it and see what happens.  He has the tools, the talent, the smarts, the experience, and now he has the chance.  Hire Jason Garrett....NOW.