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Jason Garrett

Cowboys Sign Jason Garrett To Five-Year Deal

January 15th, 2015 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 2:48pm: The Cowboys have officially locked up Garrett to a five-year extension, the team announced today (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 5:13pm: It’s a done deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Garrett’s deal is worth $30MM over five years.

4:37pm: The Cowboys and Garrett have officially agreed upon a new contract, tweets Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com.

4:13pm: According to the Cowboys’ official website, Garrett and the Cowboys are “very close” to finalizing a five-year deal in the $30MM range.

2:25pm: The Cowboys and Jason Garrett are on the brink of reaching an agreement on a five-year contract for the head coach, reports Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (via Twitter). A new five-year deal for Garrett would keep him locked up through the 2019 season.

Garrett, who took over as the Cowboys’ head coach midway through the 2010 campaign, finished with an 8-8 record in each of his full three seasons with the team. With no playoff appearances or winning seasons on his resumé coming into the 2014 season, Garrett was allowed to coach the club in a final year of his contract, a rarity in the NFL — teams will usually extend a head coach prior to his contract year, rather than letting him play out a “lame duck” season.

In Garrett’s case, perhaps the implied win-or-else nature of the season paid off. Projected by many experts as a sub-.500 team, the Cowboys went 12-4 in 2014, winning the NFC East and a postseason game before falling in a tight divisional playoff contest to the Packers. The 12-win season improved Garrett’s overall record to 41-31 in regular season games, and he’s now 1-1 in the playoffs.

Once the Cowboys officially finalize the details on a new contract for Garrett, the team will presumably move on to locking up its assistants. We heard earlier today that defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli would like to remain with the club, and I imagine Dallas would like to bring back offensive assistants Scott Linehan and Bill Callahan as well. Those coaches figure to draw interest from other suitors around the league, so it remains to be seen whether or not they’ll stick with the Cowboys, but a new deal for Garrett is a good start.

NFC East Notes: Giants, Garrett, Maclin

January 13th, 2015 at 2:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Ever since the Giants parted ways with defensive coordinator Perry Fewell earlier in the month, Steve Spagnuolo has been cited as a strong candidate to take over the DC role under Tom Coughlin. Today, Ravens coach John Harbaugh confirmed that Spagnuolo has received permission to speak to the Giants, adding that the interview will take place on Wednesday (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun). Currently a secondary coach in Baltimore, Spagnuolo is considered the favorite for the Giants’ DC job.

Here’s more from out of the NFC East:

  • Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) provides another update on the Giants‘ defensive coordinator search, reporting that the team’s interview with ex-Raiders head coach Dennis Allen is taking place today.
  • Before the Cowboys extend assistants like Rod Marinelli, Scott Linehan, or Bill Callahan, the team wants to get something done with head coach Jason Garrett, and talks are ongoing between the two sides, tweets Rapoport.
  • With Demaryius Thomas and Dez Bryant unlikely to reach the open market this March, Jeremy Maclin has a chance to be one of the top wideouts available in free agency, if the Eagles don’t lock him up before then, writes Tim McManus of PhillyMag.com. McManus talks to cap expert Joel Corry about Maclin’s potential free agency, and the former agent suggests the wideout could sign a contract between Greg Jennings‘ deal (five years, $45MM) and Dwayne Bowe‘s (five years, $56MM).
  • Although a weekend report indicated that he would likely interview with the Eagles soon for the team’s general manager position, Seahawks executive Scott Fitterer has not yet been formally contacted by Philadelphia, says Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com.

Coaching Rumors: Jets, Falcons, McDaniels

January 12th, 2015 at 3:01pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys have set aside the next three days to sign head coach Jason Garrett and retain his coaching staff, as David Moore of The Dallas Morning News writes. Garrett and key members of his staff are set to have their contracts expire now that the season is over. However, executive vice president Stephen Jones said the club will not grant anyone permission to speak or interview with an interested club over the next three days unless it’s for a head coaching position. The latest head coaching news from around the NFL..

  • The Jets and Falcons are both calling Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles back for a second interview, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Falcons interview will take place on Wednesday, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta-Journal Constitution. Bowles is believed to have a major supporter in the Falcons hierarchy in assistant GM Scott Pioli, who’s father-in-law is Bill Parcells. Bowles worked for Parcells in Dallas and Miami.
  • Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has been in high demand for some time as a head coaching candidate, but it sounds like he’ll be leaving a couple of teams disappointed. McDaniels is expected to stay with New England, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
  • Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott will interview Wednesday with the Jets for their vacant head coach job, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (via Twitter). McDermott and new GM Mike Maccagnan both have the same agent, as Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com tweets.
  • Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin has a second head coaching interview with the Falcons on Thursday, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Cowboys Notes: Garrett, Bryant, Murray

January 11th, 2015 at 5:56pm CST by Rob DiRe

Whether you thought that was a catch or not, the Cowboys’ terrific 2014 season is over. That leads to a lot of questions the team will have to address, from coaches to players. The decisions they make this offseason will be crucial if the Cowboys want to build on a surprise 12-4 season.

  • Head coach Jason Garrett is a free agent this offseason, free to sign with any team if he chooses, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. With five teams currently still with openings at head coach, things could get interesting should they decide to pursue Garrett. Despite his pending free agency, owner Jerry Jones expects Garrett to return in 2015 with a new contract.
  • Field Yates of ESPN agrees that the team needs to bring back Garrett, but adds that the team needs to re-sign Dez Bryant, and make decisions on DeMarco Murray and Rolando McClain (ESPN Insider link).
  • With the season over, teams could be calling to try to steal some Cowboys’ assistants away from the team. Rod Marinelli, Scott Linehan, and Bill Callahan could all be hot commodities this offseason, writes Brandon George of DallasNews.com in a chat. George notes that the Cowboys have the money to keep them, but could lose them to promotions with other teams.
  • Especially with the Cowboys’ tight salary cap issues, Rod Marinelli is an important component of the defense, writes Brandon George of DallasNews.com in a chat. His scheme allows the team to get production out of sub-par talent, and he will be difficult to replace. George also believes that the team will not target a wide receiver with Terrance Williams continuing to be productive across from Bryant.

Cowboys Notes: Bryant, Murray, Garrett, Manziel

January 7th, 2015 at 5:56pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones appeared on ESPN’s NFL Insiders to discuss a wide range of topics. Here’s a look at some of the PFR-relevant highlights..

  • Jones once again mentioned the franchise tag for wide receiver Dez Bryant, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (on Twitter). The Cowboys owner didn’t say much about DeMarco Murray, however and the return of the star running back seems iffy.
  • Even though he hasn’t been able to work out an extension with coach Jason Garrett, Jones assumes he’ll stay, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Garrett is currently coaching as a lame duck and, apparently, he’ll stay that way until the end of the season. If he continues to wait, however, it’s possible another team will pounce.
  • There was a lot of talk about the Cowboys taking Johnny Manziel at No. 16 in last year’s draft, but owner Jerry Jones is glad he passed. “Really we had Manziel and we had Zack Martin,” Jones told ESPN, according to Michael Florek of The Dallas Morning News. “We really couldn’t have known the quality of the player that Zack Martin is. It’s just been so much more than we could’ve expected and he had a very significant career at Notre Dame. “We certainly needed — I should be looking at the future after Romo. But I decided right there the future after Romo is too far down the road when he won’t be our quarterback to be developing a quarterback like Manziel during these next few years. It just didn’t work time wise, so we had to settle on that pick, Martin, which may be one of the best if not best pick we’ve made around here in the last 15 years.”

NFC Notes: Garrett, AP, Suh, Brees, Bucs

December 30th, 2014 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Cowboys decision-makers Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones have publicly lauded head coach Jason Garrett for his work this season in Dallas, suggesting that his job is safe, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says there’s “a school of thought in some league circles” that if the Cowboys get upset this weekend by the Lions, the team may not re-sign Garrett this offseason. In my opinion, leading this Cowboys team to a 12-win season will likely be enough to earn Garrett a new deal, but it’s a situation worth monitoring.

Here’s more from around the NFC:

  • As the Vikings wait for Adrian Peterson to potentially be reinstated in 2015, head coach Mike Zimmer said today that he’ll be “in [Peterson’s] corner” if he returns to the Vikings next season, per Ben Goessling of ESPN.com. “Adrian was always great with me,” Zimmer said. “I think he’s a good person. I think obviously he’s a great running back and if it works out that way and things work out and he gets his life in order – that’s the most important thing, he gets his life in order, he gets the opportunity to come back – then I will be in his corner whatever the decision is made.”
  • Ndamukong Suh‘s latest “misstep” complicates his pending free agency, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, who says the ramifications of the defensive tackle’s one-game suspension could make the Lions think long and hard about whether to sign Suh to a lucrative new multiyear pact.
  • Working out a contract extension similar to the one signed by Tom Brady with the Patriots in 2013 would be a win-win situation for Drew Brees and the Saints, writes Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. Brees still has two years left on his current deal, but tacking on a few extra years could give him some additional security and create some cap flexibility for New Orleans.
  • The Buccaneers spent big in free agency last offseason and it certainly didn’t translate to regular-season success. However, as Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune details, that doesn’t mean the Bucs will shy away from free agency in 2015.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com takes an early look at the Buccaneers‘ offseason, including the team’s projected cap space and the prospective free agents that should be let go or retained.

NFC Notes: Cardinals, Garrett, Buccaneers

December 15th, 2014 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

The NFL playoff picture cleared up in some ways in Week 15, with teams like the 49ers and Vikings officially falling out of contention. But with just two games left on the schedule for each team after tonight, several clubs remain in the hunt for the conference’s No. 1 seed and homefield advantage. Intra-divisional showdowns will be key over the next two weeks, with the Cardinals preparing to host the Seahawks in Week 16, and the Lions and Packers gearing up for a Week 17 game at Lambeau Field.

While we wait to see how the NFC standings shake out, and which contender is left out of the postseason, let’s check in on a few items from around the conference….

  • Appearing on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM today, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim indicated that his team will add a quarterback to its practice squad “for emergency purposes” (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com). The club intends to stick with Ryan Lindley and Logan Thomas on its active roster, while Drew Stanton recovers from his knee injury.
  • While Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stopped short of publicly announcing that Jason Garrett would return for next season, an extension for the head coach seems like something of a formality at this point, writes Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It’s very obvious that he is doing very well and his hard work is paying off,” Jones said of Garrett.
  • The Buccaneers are in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 overall pick for the 2015 draft, which would give them the opportunity to select a quarterback like Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston. However, Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk suggests that Tampa Bay should focus on building a roster with a great defense and a strong running game rather than continuing to search for a franchise quarterback. Smith argues that allocating money and resources to areas that other teams aren’t necessarily prioritizing, rather than playing catch-up at QB, could give the club a competitive edge.
  • With six sacks and 13 solo tackles in his last three games, Giants defender Jason Pierre-Paul is finishing strong as he approaches potential free agency, writes Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com. Pierre-Paul and Cowboys wideout Dez Bryant top Fitzgerald’s list of players in contract years who improved their stocks this week.

Cowboys Likely To Extend Jason Garrett

December 11th, 2014 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Given the stiff competition at the top of the NFC standings, the 9-4 Cowboys are still a long way from securing a playoff berth. However, VP Stephen Jones believes the club has seen enough from head coach Jason Garrett this season to be happy moving forward with him in 2015 and beyond, writes David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.

“I think Jason has grown leaps and bounds,” Jones said during a radio appearance on The Ticket in Dallas. “We are so comfortable – you know, comfortable can be a bad word, you want to be on edge too – but I really think Jason is the right guy for this job. … I know Jerry thinks the same thing. I certainly see Jason being a big part of our future.”

Although he acknowledged that there’s a “a lot of ball left to be played,” Jones indicated that he believes it’s in the Cowboys’ best interests to lock up Garrett to another contract once this season concludes. Since Garrett wasn’t extended before entering the final year of his deal, there was speculation that he would be fired if the team didn’t improve on its seemingly-perpetual 8-8 record. With three games left in the season, Dallas has already exceeded Garrett’s previous career high of eight wins, despite entering the year projected by many pundits to finish below .500.

A loss this week in Philadelphia would significantly derail the Cowboys’ postseason chances, but with a home game against the Colts and a road game in Washington still on the slate, Garrett’s club looks like a good bet to finish with at least 10 or 11 victories. Even without a playoff berth, that would likely be enough to earn the head coach a new contract.

NFC Notes: Saints, JPP, Gore, Garrett

December 5th, 2014 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

After questioning the Panthers’ decision to let Steve Smith go in the offseason, Saints outside linebacker Junior Galette dismissed the idea that the Saints made the same mistake with a handful of their veteran defensive players, according to Katherine Terrell of the Times-Picayune.

“The guys that replaced them are better than the guys we had. It’s not even close. Across the board,” Galette said, referring to a defensive unit that replaced Will Smith, Roman Harper, Malcolm Jenkins, and Jonathan Vilma earlier this year. “I’ll take Kenny Vaccaro any day over any safety. And I’ll take [Cameron Jordan] over any defensive end. Jairus Byrd over any safety.”

Here are a few more Friday updates from around the NFC:

  • Jason Pierre-Paul is eligible for unrestricted free agency this offseason, and the Giants defensive end recognizes that boosting his sack total will help him maximize his next contract, writes Jim Baumbach of Newsday. In our most recent 2015 free agent power rankings, we placed Pierre-Paul sixth, noting that his modest sack totals make him a different player to evaluate. After compiling 16.5 sacks in 2011, the 25-year-old has just 13.5 in the last three seasons combined.
  • According to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter), by being active for his 13th game this season, 49ers running back Frank Gore will earn a $750K roster bonus on Sunday.
  • Noting that the Cowboys will finish above .500 for the first time since Jason Garrett became the team’s head coach, Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News wonders if Garrett has earned himself a contract extension.
  • 2015’s period of head coach firings and hirings could be significantly affected the Giants‘ decision with Tom Coughlin, says Albert Breer of NFL.com. As Breer observes, “the head job for the Mara family’s team has long been seen as the Rolls-Royce of all football coaching jobs,” so if it’s available, it will have an impact on the rest of the market.

NFC East Links: Rolle, Smith, Cowboys, Cofield

November 22nd, 2014 at 8:50pm CST by Rob DiRe

Antrel Rolle is playing in a contract year for the Giants, and while he wants to stay with the team, he knows that anything can happen in an NFL offseason, writes Bob Glauber of Newsday.com.

“Staying here would definitely be ideal,” said Rolle. “I feel like there’s a lot of things that I would like to get accomplished with a new set of [teammates]. I feel like there’s a lot more to get done. Unfortunately, if you don’t have the opportunity to stay, you move on.”

The 32-year-old safety has been a stalwart of the Giants’ defense since coming over from Arizona in 2010.

Here are some other links from around the NFC East:

  • Eagles‘ first-round pick Marcus Smith has struggled to see the field as a rookie, but the team worries if he will ever develop into the player they had hoped when they drafted him, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Smith has been compared to Danny Watkins, another failed first-round selection.
  • Cowboys‘ head coach Jason Garrett has been thought of as a puppet for Jerry Jones, but Jean-Jacques Taylor of ESPNDallas.com thinks Garrett has wielded more power within the organization recently. He cites the team drafting Zack Martin, letting DeMarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher leave in free agency, and holding off on extensions for Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray as all uncharacteristic moves for Jones, likely influenced by Garrett.
  • Martin has been excellent as a rookie, validating the Cowboys‘ decision not to draft Johnny Manziel. However, if the Browns decide to sign Hoyer to a long-term contract, Manziel could still be a fit for the Cowboys, writes Steven Mullenax of The LandryHat.com. With the struggles of Brandon Weeden and Tony Romo‘s injury issues, Manziel could be a good backup and eventual replacement in Dallas.
  • Given the choice between Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, or Murray this offseason, Jon Machota of DallasNews.com believes the Cowboys should place Peterson at the top of their wish list. He believes that signing Peterson behind this offensive line would be more dangerous even than the younger DeMarco Murray.
  • Washington defensive lineman Barry Cofield eased his way back into action last week against the Buccaneers, after returning from injury. Cofield should see his snaps increase starting this week, reports Tom Schad of the Washington Times.
  • Washington defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has been in charge of an erratic defense during his tenure with the team, but despite scheme changes and coaching changes, he has survived, writes Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Jones paints the major problem in the consistency of the defense as a lack of talent on that side of the ball.
  • As the controversy with the Washington team name carries on, one devoted fan has decided to take a stand against the name, writes John Woodrow Cox of the Washington Post. He found a company to make strips of cloth that say “Washington” in which fans can use to patch over their old team apparel. Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News points to the name change for the University of Stanford as a precedent for the change, and the New Yorker has used their cover to mock the name in anticipation of Thanksgiving, according to Sports Illustrated.
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