Should Jason Garrett feel worried? Probably. Jerry Jones is making all kinds of moves that might signal a drastic change in the direction the Dallas Cowboys are taking. No, no one is getting rid of Tony Romo just yet, but it seems that Garrett, already on the hot seat, is losing some of his authority and responsibilities.
According to Jones, the man who doesn’t think he’s doing anything wrong by acting as the GM for the program he also owns, Garrett won’t be getting to call offensive plays anymore, despite being the offensive coordinator for the team before taking over as head coach. The play-calling duty will go to Bill Callahan, who was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach last season.
A feeling of cleaning house? Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was fired, with the Cowboys ranking 19th in total defense this season, Ryan’s second at the job. The Cowboys were 14th in the NFL in 2011. The bottom line was not making the playoffs, and the way the Washington Redskins manhandled the Cowboys with their running game, especially Alfred Morris, on the final game of the season.
For two years in a row, the Cowboys have missed the postseason despite having their fate laying in their own hands: In 2011 it was a do or die game against the New York Giants, in 2012 it was the same situation, this time at home, against the Washington Redskins with a less than 100% Robert Griffin III. For two consecutive years, the Cowboys blew it, with Jason Garrett taking a lot of the blame for bad calls in previous games as well.
The Garrett brothers all worked together for the Cowboys’ organization. Judd Garrett is still with the team as the director of pro scouting. John Garrett was the tight ends coach and passing game coordinator, but he left to take the position of wide receiver coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jerry Jones is still interviewing guys for unspecified positions, the most high-profile of them is Houston Nutt, who had a pretty successful time with Arkansas before leaving to Ole Miss, starting out well there before getting fired after a 2-10 season in 2011. Bill Callahan, if you don’t remember, also left College Football after a tough time at Nebraska. It’s unclear how far Jerry Jones is going with his retooling of his coaching staff, but it’s clear he isn’t taking the creme de la creme of former coaches.