Latest Update Brings Head-Scratching Confusion to Jason Garrett, Cowboys Saga

Jason Garrett, Jerry Jones

Getty Jason Garrett, Jerry Jones

Rather than formally dismiss him on Black Monday, amid exit interviews and extended farewells, the Dallas Cowboys opted for a second meeting with head coach Jason Garrett.

Tuesday’s pow-wow between the 53-year-old and his bosses, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and team vice president Stephen Jones, proved just as fruitless.

The trio spoke for about an hour-and-a-half before Dallas coaches and staff members, per NFL Network’s Jane Slater, were sent home for the day — a sign that no announcement on Garrett’s is forthcoming.

What’s more, the Dallas Morning News’ David Moore reports a third meeting is scheduled for an undisclosed date as the Joneses drag out what should have been an open-and-shut decision.

“Jason Garrett will have yet another discussion with Jerry & Stephen Jones before his status is resolved, a source said. It’s unclear at this time when that discussion will take place,” Moore tweeted.

What could they possibly need to discuss after the Cowboys logged their sixth playoff-less season under Garrett? What else is left to consider following a disappointing 8-8 finish underscored by brutal losses to the Jets, Bears, and Eagles? It’s baffling that, while other teams get a jump on their coaching searches, the Cowboys are slow-playing the process, taking a simple matter and making it mind-numbingly difficult.

One tinfoil-head theory suggests the brain trust is working out an arrangement to reassign Garrett in a new, front-office role. Local media members, including The Athletic’s Bob Sturm, aren’t so sure, however.

Jerry Jones claimed after Sunday’s season-ending victory over the Redskins that he envisions making wholesale changes, but there’s “no door shut here” and no “sharable timeline” in mind regarding Garrett’s fate.

“What I wouldn’t do, in anything I’m saying here tonight, is shut any door,” Jones said, via Pro Football Talk. “I really want to make sure I’m clear about that and communicate that: There’s no door shut here tonight. None, anywhere, is shut. This is not what that is about shutting a door of an individual. I’m not doing that here.”

For what it’s worth, Moore reported Monday it’s “still a matter of when, not if” Garrett is axed and his successor procured.

Which posits the million-dollar question: When is “when?”

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Cowboys Add Alluring Candidate to Coaching Search: Report

According to Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson, “there is some support” within the Cowboys organization to sniff around “run-dominant” Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman, who’s drawing league-wide interest in this year’s coaching cycle.

“A name to keep an eye on with the #Cowboys: #Ravens OC Greg Roman. With the Garrett situation still unresolved, Dallas hasn’t requested an interview, but I’m told there is some support for a look at Roman,” Robinson tweeted Tuesday. “Dak isn’t Lamar Jackson, but Roman’s run-dominant concepts are appealing.”

Robinson’s report came on the heels of a Monday tweet in which he termed the Cowboys’ potential search for Garrett’s replacement “a bit of a mystery,” as they’ve yet to schedule interviews with prospective candidates or even officially oust Garrett.

Thus far, the candidate group has a strong college theme w/ Rhule, Riley & Meyer,” Robinson wrote. “I’m not sold on Meyer being realistic, but Jason Garrett, Lincoln Riley and Urban all having the same agency repping them might explain some of this ambiguity.”

A career assistant, Roman, 47, has experienced success in each NFL stop — from San Francisco (2011-14) to Buffalo (2015-16) to Baltimore (2017-present). He coaxed production out of quarterbacks ranging from Colin Kaepernick to Joe Flacco to, now, MVP favorite Lamar Jackson, the engine behind the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

Under Roman’s tutelage, in his first year as a full-time starter, Jackson completed 265-of-401 balls (66.1 percent) for 3,127 yards, 36 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He added 1,206 yards and seven TDs on 176 carries, breaking Michael Vick’s single-season QB rushing record.


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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL