Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys: Here's why Jason Garrett should be Coach of the Year

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:33 p.m. ET

Fansided, Brandon Orange/FanSided via The Landry Hat

We take a look at the reasons why the Dallas Cowboys’ Jason Garrett should win the 2016 AP NFL Coach of the Year Award at next weekend’s NFL Honors Show.

The Dallas Cowboys put together one of their most impressive seasons in recent memory. Despite the disappointing one and done finish in the postseason, there are a lot of reasons to be very happy following their 2016 campaign. While most of the credit will go to the stars of the team like quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott, and receiver Dez Bryant; don’t overlook the leader of the team: head coach Jason Garrett.

While the media spent the majority of the 2016 season swooning (rightfully so) over the performances of the Cowboys rookie duo, Garrett was quietly keeping the ship steady among the media circus.

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What Garrett managed to accomplish despite the adversity the team faced early on should not only win him the admiration of Cowboys fans, but also make him the favorite to win the AP Coach of the Year award next weekend. Cases can be made for Oakland’s Jack Del Rio or Atlanta’s Dan Quinn, and of course Bill Belichick is always in the conversation, this year should be Garrett’s year.

Garrett had difficulties before the season even started. His starting quarterback Tony Romo was going to miss time for the second consecutive year. His number two quarterback, Kellen Moore, suffered a broken ankle in training camp. Garrett rolled the dice and Dak Prescott and helped coach him to one of the the best rookie seasons in NFL history.

Not only did Garrett achieve 13-3 with a rookie quarterback, he did so with a rookie running back, injuries along the offensive line, and suspensions throughout an already thin defense. No coach in the league has prospered with more key players on the shelf than Garrett did this season.

Speaking of the Prescott situation, the passing of the torch was not a quiet affair by any stretch of the imagination. While Romo was a consummate professional and stepped down gracefully, there was always going to be noise regardless of which quarterback Garrett went with.

Garrett did not allow the team to be distracted by the quarterback situation, and had them ready to win with either one. Keeping the player’s heads level despite the media circus led the team to an 11-game winning streak which propelled them to an NFC East division championship.

Garrett simply accomplished more with less this season than any other coach. The Cowboys haven’t had a coach win the yearly award since Jimmy Johnson won it back in 1990. Look for Garrett to end that drought this year, and it will be well deserved.