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Say this for Jason Garrett: He hasn’t lost the locker room. Yet.
Multiple Dallas Cowboys veterans expressed their support for the embattled head coach, who resides on the hottest of seats following Dallas’ 13-9 squandry to the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Some, like tight end Jason Witten, believe owner Jerry Jones’ harsh comments after the game — born from extreme frustration — reflect on the entire squad, not just Garrett.
“He feels like he’s put a great team together, which he has, and we haven’t played to our expectations of where we should be,” Witten said Tuesday, per the Dallas Morning News. “That’s completely fair.”
Others, like guard Zack Martin, virtually absolve Garrett of blame, heaping it upon the players’ shoulders for collectively failing their superiors.
“He knows how good we are, and how good we can be. It’s up to us to go out and execute,” Martin said, via ESPN’s Ed Werder. “You can say what you want but, at the end of the day, we’re the guys playing, and we have to make plays and finish games better.’’
One thing is agreeable to all: The quick turnaround for Thanksgiving, and a pivotal home matchup with the 8-3 Buffalo Bills, means those at The Star don’t have to ponder the Patriots for long. Winning cures everything, and there’s no better medicine for what ails a spiraling squad than the chance to get right on a primetime stage.
Until then, the static — though unavoidable — is only as damagingly loud as the Cowboys allow it to be.
“We’re not worried about the outside noise. We know what’s important,” running back Ezekiel Elliott said, per Werder. “We know we need to be ready to play this Thursday. We have a job to do and can’t let anything distract us from that.’’
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Jones Gives Final Ruling on Firing Garrett Before Season Ends
Let’s cut to the chase: The Cowboys’ boss will sooner allow walk-year Garrett’s contract to expire before he terminates his hand-picked, decade-old experiment. Jones affirmed Tuesday that coaching changes will not be made before the end of the season.
“The answer is no, period,” Jones said amid his weekly radio spot on 105.3 The Fan.
“With the makeup of this team, I shouldn’t be this frustrated,” he said Sunday after the game.
But Jones didn’t back down from his original remarks, either. Especially the ones concerning special teams coordinator Keith O’Quinn, whose unit stumbled and bumbled its way — and chiefly contributed to — Dallas dropping to 6-5.
“The same way that I felt then,” Jones said on The Fan, per the team’s official website. “When you’re general manager which I am, those coaches are out there at my ultimate decision. And so just as I should and do expect our fans to when asked in a situation like that questions regarding how we perform. It’s very much within my realm or purview, if you will, to basically not only be standing there as an owner but be standing there as the general manager that put the staff together to begin with.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL