Jason Garrett

Giants To Hire Jason Garrett As OC

Jason Garrett wasn’t out of a job too long. The Giants are planning to hire Garrett as their new offensive coordinator, a source told Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Garrett staying in the division and getting to face the Cowboys twice a year will provide a lot of drama and entertainment, if nothing else. Garrett met with Giants brass a couple of days ago, and apparently everything went well. He caught a lot of flak his last few years in Dallas, but he will be a solid veteran presence to lean on for rookie head coach Joe Judge in New York.

Garrett, who played quarterback in the league for nearly 15 years, will now be tasked with helping to develop Daniel Jones. He spent four years with the Giants as a backup, so this is a homecoming of sorts for him. He’ll surely be excited about the opportunity to take on Jerry Jones and his old team. He started his coaching career as the quarterbacks coach with the Dolphins for a couple of years before moving on to Dallas.

Garrett went a perfect 6-0 against the Giants the past three years, which couldn’t have hurt his cause with New York’s ownership. He was the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys for four seasons before serving as head coach for the past nine. Still only 53, the 2016 NFL Coach of the Year surely has his sights set on becoming a head coach again sometime in the near future. If he can get Jones to take the next step and develop like Dak Prescott did, that opportunity could come relatively soon.

The Giants are entering a new era of football, as they finally appear set to move on from Eli Manning. They fired Pat Shurmur after the season ended and brought in Judge, the Patriots’ receivers/special teams coach, to replace him. Judge’s staff is starting to fill out, as he already hired away defensive coordinator Patrick Graham from the Dolphins. We heard earlier today the Giants were planning on speaking with Scott Linehan, who worked under Garrett as his OC in Dallas. A reunion could be in the works there.

Giants Meet With Jason Garrett

Former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett could land with his longtime rival. On Wednesday, Garrett met with Giants brass to interview for the vacant offensive coordinator position, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). 

Garrett could provide the Giants with tons of offensive knowhow, plus years of coaching experience to support first-time head coach Joe Judge. Garrett also helped to groom Day 3 pick Dak Prescott into one of the league’s best quarterbacks, so the Giants are undoubtedly interested to hear about what he could do for youngster Daniel Jones.

On the flipside – Garrett has long been accustomed to running his own show, and it’s unlikely that he would see an OC role as his final stop. The Giants may, or may not, be wary of hiring a coordinator who will surely be in the head coaching mix this time next year.

Although Garrett’s Cowboys disappointed in 2019, he had his fair share of accomplishments in Dallas, including a 6-0 record against the G-Men over the last three seasons. All in all, Garrett coached the Cowboys to an 85-67 record since taking over as HC midway through the 2010 season.

The Giants requested to interview Garrett for their head coaching position earlier this month, but that meeting was 86’d when they hired Judge. Garrett also has history with the franchise, having played for them as a backup quarterback between 2000 and 2003.

NFC East Rumors: Cowboys, Giants, Barwin

Mike McCarthy being hired so soon points to the Cowboys being confident he will coax more from their talented roster than Jason Garrett did, and ownership looks set to give its new HC more power. McCarthy will not only have greater input on roster decisions than he did in Green Bay but will hold as much influence in this area as Bill Parcells did three coaches ago in Dallas, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News and Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter links). It was not a secret McCarthy and ex-Packers GM Ted Thompson did not see eye to eye on the latter’s aversion to free agency additions, so it will be interesting to see how the Cowboys proceed now that McCarthy will possess greater influence than Jason Garrett or Wade Phillips did on this front.

Here is the latest from Dallas and other NFC East cities:

  • Jerry and Stephen Jones kept Garrett in the loop on their plans, notifying the since-displaced head coach they planned to interview McCarthy. “[Jason] said, ‘You’re not going to meet anybody more special than Mike. I love his story, I love him. he’s great,’” Jones said. Attempting to explain the delay in parting ways with Garrett, Jerry Jones said he sought a “soft landing” for his 10-season HC. Stephen Jones said the Cowboys’ deliberate actions were “in line with what Jason wanted.”
  • The Cowboys only interviewed McCarthy and Marvin Lewis for their coaching job. No other interviews were scheduled, Werder tweets.
  • Bret Bielema is expected to be in the mix for the Giants‘ defensive coordinator role under Joe Judge, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweets. Judge is believed to have most of his staff selected, per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY, who notes said staff will likely include several coaches with more NFL experience than the 38-year-old HC. The former Wisconsin head coach, Bielema spent 2018 as a Patriots consultant and coached the Pats’ defensive line this season.
  • Not long after Connor Barwin announced his retirement, the pass rusher may be set to transition into a staff role. The Eagles may be in the process of bringing Barwin in for a personnel role, per Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link). This may mean a scouting job for the 33-year-old ex-Eagles linebacker. Barwin played four seasons with the Eagles, from 2013-16, arriving early in Howie Roseman‘s GM stay.

Latest On Giants, Jason Garrett

3:11pm: Hold the phone. The Giants have not requested permission to speak to Garrett about their OC job, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY (on Twitter) hears. Their request was for their head coaching job, before they agreed to hire Joe Judge.

As the HC, Judge will get to pick his own staff. It’s not clear whether he would consider Garrett for the OC job, or if the ex-Cowboys head coach would be interested in the position.

10:50am: The Giants’ head coaching job is spoken for, but the team still wants to meet with former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett. The Giants are interested in Garrett as a candidate for the offensive coordinator role on Joe Judge‘s staff, Ed Werder of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. 

Judge, 38, lacks head coaching experience, and Garrett could provide some helpful counsel to him. Garrett, of course, spent a decade as the Cowboys’ HC.

It’s not clear whether Garrett is willing to consider coordinator positions, though the Giants job would have some obvious upside. Garrett could groom quarterback Daniel Jones, who showed promise as a rookie despite still being green. The Giants OC job would also give him a chance to face his old friends twice per season.

The Browns stand as the last head coaching vacancy in the league and, so far, they haven’t shown any real interest in Garrett.

Giants Request To Interview Jason Garrett

The Giants have requested permission to speak with former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, sources tell Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Garrett, of course, will not return to the Cowboys, but permission is required since he is technically under contract until January 14. 

[RELATED: Giants Lose Matt Rhule To Panthers]

On Tuesday morning, the Giants lost out on top target Matt Rhule. The former Baylor head coach agreed to terms with the Panthers moments before his scheduled flight to New York, forcing the Giants to shift to backup options, including Garrett.

Although Garrett’s Cowboys disappointed in 2019, he had his fair share of accomplishments in Dallas, including a 6-0 record against the G-Men over the last three seasons. All in all, Garrett coached the Cowboys to an 85-67 record since taking over as HC midway through the 2010 season.

The Giants have cast a wide net in their search, as shown in PFR’s tracker. Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Patriots wide receivers coach Joe Judge, Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale, Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, and Cowboys assistant Kris Richard are also on the radar.

Giants To Consider Jason Garrett

The Giants will consider former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett for their head coaching vacancy, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. However, their longtime rival is viewed as a Plan B – he’ll only be in the picture if things go sour with Baylor’s Matt Rhule, their apparent top choice.

Garrett spent nearly ten years as the Cowboys’ head coach and, hands down, has Rhule beat in the NFL experience department. Rhule has just one year of pro experience – his 2012 season as an assistant offensive line coach with Baylor.

Still, teams have been swooning over Rhule in recent years. Last year, Rhule shot down the other tenant of the Meadowlands, but the Giants job could hold greater appeal for him, especially if they’re willing to let him hire his own staff.

It’s not a given that Rhule will get the Giants job, even though he’s the leader of the pack. Barriers include Rhule’s pricey buyout from Baylor, which is believed to be more than $15MM. On the flip side – it’s possible that he could be had on a lower salary than someone like Garrett.

Between 2010 and 2019, Garrett coached the Cowboys to an 85-67 record and three NFC East titles. But, during that span, the Cowboys did not advance beyond the divisional round.

Cowboys Officially Part With Jason Garrett

The Cowboys have officially announced that Jason Garrett will not return as the team’s head coach next season. While the news does not come as a surprise, the team had yet to make an official announcement. The announcement confirms an earlier report from Jay Glazer of Fox Sports that Dallas had informed Garrett of the decision.

Garrett’s status had been under question for much of the season and when the Cowboys were officially eliminated from the playoffs his fate seemed sealed. While nothing was officially announced, Dallas began interviewing other head coaching candidates, including former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy earlier this week.

The team’s statement refuses to call the move a firing, but rather says “the team would not seek a new agreement [with Garrett].” Garrett has long been held by Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones in high regard dating back to his days as a backup quarterback, but his inability to take Dallas deep into the playoffs forced Jones to make a move. In the end, Garrett finished his 10-year tenure as Cowboys head coach with an 85-67 regular season record and 2-3 postseason record.

 

Latest On Cowboys’ Coaching Search

Jason Garrett is still technically the coach of the Cowboys, but everything continues to indicate they’ll be moving on with the team already scheduling interviews with Marvin Lewis and Mike McCarthy. Here’s the latest on everything pertaining to Dallas’ search:

  • The Cowboys were conspicuously quiet for a while, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t working behind the scenes. The McCarthy interview news just leaked Friday morning but the former Packers coach was apparently originally scheduled to interview on Thursday before rescheduling to accommodate his Browns interview, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). That proves owner Jerry Jones hasn’t just been sitting on his hands after the season ended.
  • Garrett, meanwhile, is continuing to lobby Jones for another chance, as Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reported in Sunday’s FOX pregame show. Jones has been steadfast in his decision to move on from Garrett, but Garrett is doing everything he can to keep his post. Meanwhile, the team’s interview with McCarthy went so well that McCarthy stayed an extra day in Dallas.
  • Baylor coach Matt Rhule and Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley have also been connected to the Cowboys’ job. The Jones family should have a good read on their potential interest in the job since they have the same agent as McCarthy, tweets Albert Breer of SI.com. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network says that Jones will gauge Riley’s interest, but Riley is unlikely to leave Oklahoma at this point (video link).
  • The Lewis interview caught a lot of people by surprise, but there is one interesting link between the two sides. Jones is very good friends with Bengals owner Mike Brown, tweets Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. Dehner writes that the two men “hold very similar view[s]” on handling their teams. Lewis, of course, was Cincinnati’s coach for 16 seasons and Brown was very reluctant to let him go. It’s possible that Brown recommended Lewis to Jones.
  • Speaking of Lewis, Rapoport says the former Bengals HC would require that the Cowboys — or any club — hire Hue Jackson as his OC (video link). That could be a deal-breaker for the Cowboys given the presence of Kellen Moore.
  • Garrett had told his assistants on expiring deals they were free to start looking for other work. Most assistants were on expiring deals like Garrett, but that notably excluded Moore and offensive line coach Marc Colombo, Breer tweets. The organization thinks very highly of Moore and he generally received positive reviews in his first year calling plays. Since both are still under contract, it’s quite possible the Jones’ will retain them even when they hire a new coach. Breer adds that Garrett hasn’t spoken to any of his staff since Monday.

Mike McCarthy To Meet With Cowboys

While the Cowboys haven’t said anything official about the status of head coach Jason Garrett, it sounds like the organization is preparing to meet with candidates. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is traveling to Dallas to meet with the Cowboys. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the interview will take place today.

Rapoport adds that the organization is “laying the groundwork” for an inevitable head coaching search, with a particular focus on former NFL head coaches. To that end, Rapoport hints that Marvin Lewis could also be a candidate for the gig, with the former Bengals head coach receiving interest from some within the organization.

As our head coaching tracker shows, McCarthy has been one of the more popular names on the interview circuit, as he’s already interviewed for the Panthers, Browns, and Giants vacancies. McCarthy was out of the NFL for the entire 2019 campaign, but he spent the season studying film and designing plays in preparation for his next opportunity.

Now, the former Super Bowl winner becomes the first known candidate to (presumably) replace Garrett in Dallas. The former Packers head coach did have a pair of Hall of Famers (Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers) for nearly the entirety of his Green Bay stint, but he’d be inheriting an offense that has plenty of weapons of their own. His play-calling was also called into question towards the latter stages of his tenure, but it sounds like he was focused on improving that aspect of his coaching throughout the past year.

We heard yesterday that Garrett and the Cowboys were likely heading towards a divorce. The Cowboys were scheduled to meet with Garrett on Thursday, but that meeting was scrapped. Before the 86’d sit-down, the Cowboys were rumored to be considering a middle-ground scenario in which Garrett would remain with the organization in a different role. At this moment, a clean break seems more likely.

Earlier today, Rapoport reported (via Twitter) that the Cowboys aren’t expected to make any definitive announcement about Garrett until at least Monday. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets that the Cowboys head coach has been campaigning to keep his gig. Garrett’s contract is set to expire on January 14th.

Latest On Cowboys, Jason Garrett

There’s no official word on Jason Garrett‘s status, but it sounds like the Cowboys will be moving on from their longtime head coach. The saga is “expected to conclude soon” with Garrett’s dismissal, ESPN.com’s Ed Werder (on Twitter) hears. After that, the Cowboys will move on quickly and begin interviewing candidates for the job. 

[RELATED: 2020 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker]

Werder’s report stops just short of saying that a final determination has been made, but it sure sounds like the two sides are headed for divorce. The Cowboys, reportedly, were only planning to retain Garrett if the Cowboys made a deep playoff run. Unfortunately for the Princeton grad, the Cowboys finished 8-8, missed the playoffs, and ceded the division to the rival Eagles.

The Cowboys were scheduled to meet with Garrett at The Star on Thursday, but that meeting was scrapped. Before the 86’d sit-down, the Cowboys were rumored to be considering a middle-ground scenario in which Garrett would remain with the organization in a different role. At this moment, a clean break seems more likely.

If this is the end of the line for Garrett, he’ll leave the Cowboys as their second-winningest coach of all time and an overall record of 85-67. Only Tom Landry won more games for the franchise, but Garrett has just career two playoff wins to his credit. Under Garrett’s guidance, the Cowboys have never advanced beyond the divisional round.