Well there we have it. Jason Garrett’s tenure has come to an end with the Dallas Cowboys. Many people have been been demanding his release for quite some time and now they have their wish. But guess what. Jason Garrett wasn’t the problem for the Dallas Cowboys.
Garrett Wasn’t The Problem
Now don’t get me wrong, Jason Garrett is not some incredible coach. But he’s also far from the worst. Look at coaches like Adam Gase, Freddie Kitchens, and Hugh Jackson. Garrett’s reputation as ‘the clapper’ is fitting because it seemed all he ever did was clap on the sidelines. He never seemed to do any actual coaching. But he didn’t make decisions that were detrimental to the team.
The Real Problem
Jerry Jones took over the Cowboys in 1989. Has he seen success since then? Absolutely. But in recent years he has caused some major problems for the team. Most of these problems stem from Jones acting as the team GM.
The Cowboys currently have 41 players under contract leading into the 2020 season. The problem is that a significant number of those players do not see the field as is. And many probably wouldn’t on most teams.
They have approximately $81 million in cap space remaining. Yet QB Dak Prescott remains unsigned. When his negotiations left off he was expected to receive more than $30 million per year. WR Amari Cooper is also a free agent and has a market value between $15-20 million per year. Here are a few other significant players who are headed towards free agency:
- Byron Jones
- Maliek Collins
- Sean Lee
- Robert Quinn
- Jason Witten
- Jeff Heath
This is just a couple of the big name players entering free agency for the Cowboys. There are a lot of role players that will be lost as well. Jerry Jones has not done anything to prepare the team for this offseason over the last few years by restructuring deals or freeing cap space.
Jones Not Garrett
In summary Jason Garrett wasn’t the problem for the Cowboys. It was and always will be Jerry Jones. As long as he is running the team, they will not be successful again.
