ARLINGTON, Texas -- The pressure is on Jason Garrett as he enters his second full season as Cowboys head coach. With no prior head-coaching experience before taking over midway through the 2010 season, Garrett continues to learn on the job while also being expected to maximize the potential of a roster that has key players in the prime of their careers.
As Cowboys owner Jerry Jones pointed out Wednesday, Garrett doesn't have the same luxury as Jones' friend Lou Holtz, whose first head coaching job was at William & Mary. No disrespect to that university but it's not the Dallas Cowboys, Jones said.
"I think Jason has just made the first steps out of the box," Jones said during an OTA session at Cowboys Stadium. "With his intellect and his passion and his temperament -- he's an overachiever, but a smart one -- I think the sky is the limit for him."
Jones added: "We need him to be coaching at a level that can get us where we want to go next year. If he can do that, which I think he has the potential to do that, then it's almost unthinkable what he could become over the years as a head coach.
"He's got the right stuff to effectively learn as he goes and at the same time, coach at a level that can get us where we want to go next year. I don't know of anybody else in the country that has that upside potential, yet is as capable as he is to get the job done this year."
Garrett is 13-11 as head coach of the Cowboys.
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