Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett attempted to regain some credibility Wednesday during a 53-minute news conference that he began with a 30-minute opening statement. He knew there was a presumption that Jerry Jones had called most of the shots during this "uncomfortable" offseason and he tried to set the record straight.
He regaled reporters with stories about his magical last season as an NFL quarterback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004. It was there, as a scout-teamer, that he encountered defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli. Those two men have now been hired to run the defense at Valley Ranch.
Jones has been widely credited for making most of the hires this offseason, in part because he's done little to suggest otherwise. He's tried to change the narrative in recent comments to the team's website, but the damage to Garrett's credibility has already been done. Garrett did a decent job of re-establishing his coaching credentials, but he failed to shed any significant light on who would be calling plays on this offense.
It took the organization a little more than a week to completely change courses from a defensive standpoint, but he wants more time to work through "the mechanics" of the playcalling situation. However, he did say the ultimate decision would be made by him. It was one of the few moments in which he provided a direct answer to a question.
I think Jerry's basically made the decision the Cowboys will have a new playcaller in 2013, but for whatever reason Jason is refusing to confirm. No matter what Jones says, it would be a huge philosophical change for an owner who has been obsessed with the idea that a head coach should call plays.
Garrett acknowledged that one of his mentors Jimmy Johnson has advised him to focus on being the head coach instead of calling plays. But he says Norv Turner and Sean Payton have told him it's important for him to remain the primary playcaller.
The fact the Cowboys are guarding this decision like a state secret only makes it a bigger story. We'll eventually move onto free agency and the draft, but this question's not going away.
Asked how the organization could be so decisive on defensive changes while being so plodding on offense, Garrett basically said his side of the ball only required subtle changes. What he's attempting to say without really saying is the team's doing just fine on offense. In fact, he was pretty self-serving in his overall assessment.
"One of the things, when you analyze some of the best offenses in football over the last six years, ironically enough, most of the best offenses has the head coach calling the plays," Garrett said Wednesday. "Probably with the exception of New England and Sean (Payton) down in New Orleans, Norv (Turner) in San Diego, Gary Kubiak down in Houston, Mike McCarthy in Green Bay, our team, if you look at us, statistically, we're all in there together. And, ironically enough, the head coach calls those plays. But I'm very respectful of the responsibilities that I have as a head coach."
Garrett is giving lip service to needing to spend more time overseeing all three facets of his team, but he keeps pointing out how well his offense is doing. He talks about the lack of takeaways on defense, but he fails to mention how mediocre this team has been in scoring.
Late in Wednesday's epic session, Garrett was asked to address the perception that Jones was calling all the shots. He made the statement that 31 other teams have general managers and owners that have a say in things. Of course, it's rare when the owner and GM are the same person, although Mike Brown in Cincinnati has a similar arrangement. Garrett talked about having a strong relationship with Jones. Then he told the biggest whopper of his life.
"I have a great respect for him as a football person," said Garrett.
I guess folks will say strange things when they're clinging to jobs. But making statements like that won't help Garrett regain any credibility.
He would've been better off giving us the silent treatment.
